


The Green Knight Rises

by Kerichi



Series: Rose and Scorpius Stories [10]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Family Drama, Mystery, Romance, Wizard comics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-18
Updated: 2017-01-07
Packaged: 2018-08-31 18:10:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 44
Words: 98,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8588587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kerichi/pseuds/Kerichi
Summary: In Creevey Comics, the Green Knight works alone to uncover the truth. Scorpius Malfoy has Rose Weasley and Super Wizard Harry Potter.





	1. Sunday Dinner

 

On Scorpius Malfoy's first visit to The Burrow, he’d experienced a chilly reception followed by a dunk in an ice-cold pond. The Weasley clan had thawed to him since then—no more gang interrogations, and Granny Weasley stopped threatening to hex—but he was mindful that the family truce could end at any time. That awareness made Scorpius hesitate when Rose suggested they fly his new enchanted motorbike to Devon for Sunday dinner.

"We can't skip another one," she said. "Lily's sending owls, threatening to hunt us down." Rose sat cross-legged on the bed, draped like a goddess in Egyptian cotton. "She said we've been going at it for weeks, we have to come up for air sometime."

"I disagree."

"Me too." Rose set her teacup on the tray holding the remains of their breakfast. "But I see her point. We—"

"—are on holiday." After seven years at Hogwarts, they deserved one.

Rose sighed. "Tomorrow it'll be over. Ministry training for me and you'll be working for Malfoy Enterprises."

Scorpius set the tray on the floor. "There's still time to go at it before coming up for air."

Rose glanced at the clock on the bedside table. "Dinner's at two. We'll need at least an hour to get ready." Her lips curved. "Plenty of time."

"Barely enough." Scorpius leaned over to kiss her smiling mouth.

 

The issue of how to get to Devon was forgotten until much later, when they were hurrying to get dressed.

"I can't wait to see you in riding gear," Rose said.

The anticipation on her face banished any concern that the Weasley family clock would report Rose in mortal peril instead of travelling. Scorpius replied, "Not the trousers. Only the jacket."

Rose slid on a pair of blue jeans. "Hugo will say we're trying to match."

Her leather jacket was all black. His had grey stripes. "There's a reason Headmaster Snape's portrait calls him a dunderhead." Scorpius watched Rose choose trainers and selected dark jeans and riding boots.

Wizard buildings didn't offer the Muggle amenity of underground parking, so Scorpius and Rose walked up the steps from the penthouse to the roof garden. He rolled the black Triumph Rocket III out of a shed charmed to resemble a privacy screen.

"Millionaires love their toys," Rose said.

"Billionaire by the time I inherit." Scorpius handed Rose a helmet that was almost as blue as her eyes, checked the fit, and fastened the chinstrap before sliding on his own silver helmet. "I have to admit this is one of my favourites." He wouldn't trade the Creevey Wizard Comics and action figures he'd collected from childhood for the motorbike, but he'd forfeit any other "toy" he owned.

Rose mounted the motorbike behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Will this be like flying in Dad's car?"

Scorpius chuckled. She knew he thought her father's Bentley was the equivalent of flying sofa. He hit the start button, pressed another button to levitate, and then engaged the Invisibility Booster. "Hold on." He twisted the right handgrip towards his body and the motorbike shot forward. The speed was exhilarating, but the real thrill came from the danger. Rev the engine too much and the bike would do wheelies. Accidentally pull hard on the front brake lever, and the motorbike would slide sideways on the ground or in midair. His skill controlled the machine. Kept Rose safe. The knowledge aroused a primal response his grandparents would deem unbecoming to a Slytherin. Once they reached the orchards belonging to the Weasleys' neighbours, Scorpius pulled the clutch to begin their descent. The tires touched ground in a paddock and rolled to a stop.

Rose climbed off to open the gate and then close it behind the motorbike. Scorpius drove slowly through a field of tall grass and halted at the edge of The Burrow's back garden.

"Do you want to walk from here?" Rose asked.

The family gathered around picnic tables stared in their direction. No one smiled. Rose's father and uncles seemed ready to hex first and ask questions later. Scorpius lifted his hands. "They think we're intruders. Take off your helmet."

He could tell the moment Rose was recognised. Wands lowered.

"Merlin," Rose said with a wavering laugh. "I was scared we'd have to cast Shield Charms."

Scorpius had cast a Shield Charm, but since it was non-verbal and cast without a wand, he was relieved not to test it against a dozen curses. He waited for Rose to dismount and got off the bike to remove his own helmet and riding gloves. Most of the family wandered over to greet Rose and take a closer look at his motorbike.

"What's that for?" Rose's cousin Lucy asked, pointing to the pad he'd conjured to place beneath the chrome kickstand.

"Stability, so the motorbike doesn't fall over."

Lucy smiled, revealing a gap where she'd lost a canine tooth. "I like your motorbike. It's shiny and pretty."

"Malfoys are all about appearances," Teddy Lupin said. He stood nearby, smirking.

Scorpius looked at Lupin's spiky turquoise hair and arched an eyebrow.

Lucy burst into giggles.

Harry Potter, the original Super Wizard, strolled up to the motorbike. He was dressed in alter-ego mode: t-shirt and cargo shorts. "My godfather, Sirius Black, had a Triumph Bonneville," he said. "I take it out now and then. It has a finicky kick start."

Scorpius nodded. "This model has a charmed start button with a kick start lever backup."

"Care to give me a ride?" Potter gestured to the picnic tables. "After dinner, of course."

"Of course." What else could he say with Weasleys, Potters, and Scamanders gathered around? He escorted Rose to the garden where they sat with her cousins Albus, Lily, Lucy, and Dominique. Scorpius listened to the ebb and flow of conversation and ate a second helping of Granny Weasley's chocolate trifle to extend dinner as long as possible. When Harry Potter ambled over to their table, Scorpius reluctantly stood.

They walked in silence until Scorpius said, "If the Auror Office needs more diversity in their trainees, find another Slytherin. I'm not interested."

"Neither am I," Potter replied. "Not since I realised you'd be much more effective working inside Malfoy Enterprises."


	2. The Request

 

Scorpius could be  _useful_ working for Malfoy Enterprises? "I've heard about the Stop Snitching flyers posted in Knockturn Alley," he said. "Are informant ranks so decimated you ask family members to turn on each other?"

"No." Potter seemed genuinely appalled. "Lucius isn't under investigation." He hesitated, and then added, "At this time."

Honest to a fault, just like Super Wizard. "What do you want?"

Potter glanced over his shoulder. "Ron and George are in the process of imbedding voice-activated recorders into Trackingbralls for the Auror Office."

They had reached the motorbike. Scorpius handed Rose's blue helmet to Potter. "There's a Sizing Charm."

"I trust in your driving ability."

Scorpius drew on his helmet and adjusted the chinstrap. "Ability doesn't ensure safety. This is a Muggle machine, not a racing broom."

Potter put the helmet on. "Draco was always concerned about personal safety too."

Was that before or after Potter's  _Sectumsempra_  curse? Scorpius said, "That made him the best of fathers."

"I'm sure." Potter gestured to the motorbike. "You didn't choose the windshield option?"

"Deflection Charm." An acrylic shield would have ruined the aesthetic. Scorpius waved his wand and a leather backrest with chrome side brackets attached to the passenger seat. "Something for you to hold onto."

"Thanks."

Scorpius swung a leg over the motorbike and waited for his passenger to settle onto the pillion seat before he revved up the engine and let out the clutch.

The riding experience was different, to say the least, with Potter on board. The motorbike handled the same: easy to manoeuvre at any speed, and once airborne, a twist on the throttle sent the rpm rocketing. As the landscape beneath them blurred, Scorpius realised the difference was weight—not in kilograms, but expectations. Rose only wanted to enjoy the experience and his company. Potter had an agenda.

Scorpius circled around and landed the motorbike at the edge of the apple grove bordering the paddock he and Rose had touched down in earlier. "Is this enough distance?"

"Should be." Potter climbed off and brought a Sneakoscope out of a shorts pocket. "It detects Trackingbralls as well as untrustworthy people."

"And I have a Toadstone in my pocket." The stone, a token of thanks from Lysander Scamander for finding his toad Loki, grew hot to warn of danger.

Potter's eyebrows rose. "Is it shaped like a bezoar?"

"No." Scorpius put his feet on the ground and remained seated. "I've seen how fast Trackingbralls can roll. There isn't time to waste."

"So get on with it?" Potter smiled wryly. "You'd think after all these years I'd find it easier to ask someone to put themselves at risk for the good of the wizarding world, but I still struggle."

If the slight pause that followed was Scorpius's cue to speak, he ignored it.

"Your relationship with Rose is another complication," Potter said.

"Is it?"

"Her parents are my dearest friends." Potter tugged his helmet off. "I can't have a serious discussion wearing this thing."

Scorpius didn't move.

"You aren't making this easier," Potter said.

"Is that what you want? Very well. It's public knowledge I'm joining the board of Malfoy Enterprises. My grandfather isn't under investigation, so that leaves the Knights of Walpurgis." The wizard supremacist group whose name Voldemort changed to Death Eaters. The group his grandfather continued to support.

Potter nodded. "Aurors monitor the activities of prominent members, but we've never had an informant inside the organisation."

"I declined knighthood," Scorpius said.

"You'll still have access to people and information. Lucius has made it clear that you are his heir, not Draco."

"Father has other interests."

"I know."

Typical. Once a Death Eater, always a Death Eater to Aurors, even if a man became a law-abiding citizen who created perfumes with his wife. "What kind of information are you looking for?"

Potter said, "The Stop Snitching flyers you mentioned. Rumour has it the Knights of Walpurgis are behind them. I want to know if their campaign is meant to cover up something they've already done . . . or something they plan to do."

The Toadstone in Scorpius's jacket pocket suddenly heated as if it was trying to burn through leather. "If I find out I'll pass the information along." He held up the Toadstone so Potter could see the greenish glow.

Potter asked, "Pass information how? Through Rose? I don't want her involved."

"Too late."

The Sneakoscope sprang to life, whistling and spinning like a dervish. Potter's expression tightened. "There's a distinct lack of privacy in this family."

Scorpius asked, "Shall we teach them a lesson?"

Potter deactivated the Sneakoscope. "What kind?"

"Trackingbralls and water don't mix." Beyond the orchard was a duck pond. Scorpius could ride over and use spells to plunge the Trackinbrall to the bottom. It had worked for him and Rose last Easter.

"The new models are resistant to water pressure," Potter said.

Weasley ingenuity was always evolving. "There's another lesson we could teach."

Potter got back on the motorbike. "What's that?"

Scorpius dropped the Toadstone into his pocket. "Eavesdroppers never hear any good of themselves."

 

The ride through the orchard and across the paddock became a test of self-control. Potter's "advice" on dating a Weasley was dryly amusing. Without a Deflection Charm, Scorpius would have had bugs in his teeth. Scorpius stopped the bike a safe distance from Rose's father and uncle, who waited at the spot he'd parked at before. He removed his helmet and gloves. "They don't look happy."

"I wonder why," Potter said blandly.

Scorpius grinned before he could catch himself and then tensed when Potter blinked like an owl—-hopefully in shock that a Malfoy thought he was funny. Scorpius headed for the garden.

Rose's father stepped into his path. "It's true. Don't look at anything on Rose's body below her neck. Not when I'm around."

"Yes, sir." Scorpius continued on.

"Harry's wrong about me liking you better if you praise my inventions," George Weasley called after him. "You have to buy them too."

"I'll remember that." He strolled over to join Rose on the stretch of lawn currently used as a bowling green. "Who's winning?"

"Team Teddy. Did you have a nice ride?"

"Mmm."

Rose linked her fingers with his. "They're having a bowls tournament. Do you want to play?"

Scorpius shook his head.

Rose said, "Neither do I. Let's go home."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The dunked in the pond references last chap and this one came from ch. 13 of Our Little Secret when Rose and Scorpius went for a swim with their clothes on to deactivate a Trackingbrall. The "don't look below her neck" was inspired by a "Daddy's rules for dating" list. Readers of OLS might remember the chat Scorpius had with Rose's male relatives and some of the "rules" that came up, like "You make her cry, I make you cry."
> 
> This chapter was rather short, so if anyone's interested in reading another story, I just so happen to have posted a 4,500 word action/adventure/romance one shot called Hardcore Harry. :)


	3. Couple Talk

 

Scorpius's plan to wait and share what had happened over a glass of elf-made wine dissolved when they reached the penthouse terrace. As they stowed the motorbike, words spilled out of his mouth so readily he almost suspected Rose of using a Compulsion Charm.

She said, "We would have passed information along anyway. Why are you upset?"

"I'm not." Scorpius opened the door to the stairway and followed Rose to the lounge. He headed straight for the drinks cabinet and poured two glasses of wine.

Rose remained at his side. "You're not upset but you need a drink?"

He bit back the reply that he'd spent the afternoon with her family. Any bloke in his position would need a drink. "Exactly."

"Hmmm." Rose took a sip from her glass. "Maybe I used the wrong word. You're not upset, you're concerned about something."

Scorpius swirled his wine around.

Rose said, "If it's me, I can take care of myself."

"I know." Scorpius sniffed the wine. "1996 was not a good year. I'll open another bottle."

"I'd rather you told me what's wrong."

He exhaled heavily. "Potter made a joke and . . . I think he saw my deformity."

"Your  _what_?"

"My bifid zygomaticus major muscle."

Rose reached out a hand to caress his cheek. "A dimple is not a deformity."

Not to her, but his grandfather had a different opinion. Dimples betrayed Hufflepuff tendencies. "Will your uncle tell anyone?"

Rose slid her arms around his waist. "Would Commissioner Goldman reveal the Green Knight's secrets?"

Scorpius smirked at the thought of Harry Potter with the comic book character's moustache.

"Besides," Rose said, "Uncle Harry probably doubted his eyesight. Only nice boys have dimples." Her jean-clad legs rubbed against his, creating a pleasant friction. "Slytherins aren't nice."

"Damn right." He kissed her in a way that was better than nice, and in return, she used her lips and tongue with the boldness of a Gryffindor.

"You don't need wine for stress relief," Rose said.

Her husky voice tightened every muscle in his body. "What's the alternative?"

Blue eyes twinkled. "A bubble bath."

 

The long, hot soak was as relaxing as promised. Even the bubble bomb explosion when Rose threw four WWW round "bombs" into the water for extra bubbles and filled the bathroom with suds had its benefit. Scorpius got to cover Rose with bubbles and then pop them.

They decided to stay in and grill chicken kebabs for dinner. Rose shook her head over the focal point of the balcony: a stone charcoal barbeque. "There was nothing wrong with the portable one I got from Dad."

"This one has a chimney." And it came with a pizza oven insert, tool set, grill baskets, skewers, and a double burger press—whatever that was.

"It's big," Rose said. "You could cook for a party."

Her tone made the statement a question. Scorpius placed their kebabs on the grill. "I'm considering having a few workmates over for dinner. Is Saturday at seven good for you?"

Rose placed the cup of marinade on the barbeque prep table. "They won't talk freely if I'm around."

"I believe they will."

"With Lucius listening?"

"He won't be invited."

Rose gave a startled laugh. "He'll have kittens."

"Snakelets."

She shook her head.

"It's true." Scorpius turned the kebabs and brushed them with marinade. "Baby snakes are called snakelets, neonates, or hatchlings."

"That wasn't what I meant."

Scorpius hadn't thought it was; he'd been stalling. "I'll tell him I have to stand on my own or people will think I'm weak like my father."

"No."

He shrugged. "It's what he wants to hear."

"You shouldn't have to say it."

But he would. Scorpius grabbed a pair of tongs and transferred the kebabs to a clean platter. "The red peppers are charred at the edges."

"I don't expect perfection," Rose said.

He smiled a little. "I'll open a bottle of sparkling wine."

The orange sunset enticed them to eat outside. Scorpius asked about Rose's schedule, and she confessed that she hadn't been given one.

"Mum said the Ministry indoctrinates trainees for the first week. We learn the history and functions of all the offices and departments."

"Sounds fact-filled."

"I'll be taking reams of notes." Rose made a face. "And we're required to eat as a group in the Ministry canteen."

"I could have lunch delivered."

Rose seemed tempted, even as she said, "That wouldn't earn me any friends."

It would if she shared. "If it's any consolation, I'm sure Grandfather will arrange working lunches for me as well."

"At fine restaurants, not the corporate canteen." Envy was a good look on Rose. It did sexy things to her lips.

Scorpius said, "Malfoy Enterprises has a dining hall."

Rose's expression shifted from sulky to teasing. "With thousands and thousands of candles floating in midair, I suppose, and golden plates and goblets."

"It isn't a replica of the Great Hall."

Her eyes danced. "Only hundreds and hundreds of candles?"

"And plain white china." He left out that it was eighteenth century fine bone china, spell-protected against chips and breakage.

The sun had gone down by the time they finished dinner and began to clear away the dishes. None of Rose's clothes hanging in his wardrobe were business attire, so Scorpius asked if she wanted to go to Thornhill Square and pack a bag.

"I'm going to spend the night there," Rose replied.

"Why?" She hadn't slept at her parents' house in ages. She went home for clothes and the occasional family dinner or breakfast.

Rose said, "Mum and Dad want to have a talk. Give career advice."

Scorpius decided to scrub the pilaf dish by hand instead of using a spell. A few grains of rice encrusted the bottom of the pan, and it was more satisfying to physically scour them off. "That's going to take all night?"

"Of course not." Silence fell, and then she said, "We have to get up early tomorrow."

He opened a drawer to get a tea towel. "I have an alarm."

Rose watched him dry and put away the dish. She bit her lip. "They think we're rushing things, that it's too soon to—"

"—live together?" His words to Potter came to mind. "Too late."

Rose blushed. "I stay over."

"Every night. I gave you a key and the counter spells to disarm the security wards." His jaw clenched. "The toy Kneazle you've had since childhood is on my bed. Shall I retrieve him?"

"No, Mini-Crookshanks wants to stay with you."

"You want to stay with me." Scorpius refused to attribute feelings to a stuffed animal. "Tell your parents that."

"I tried." Her eyes flashed with challenge. "You've never asked me to move in. Was I supposed to invite myself?"

He'd thought . . . assumed . . . . "I want you to move in with me." He caressed her cheek; kissed her smiling lips.

Rose sighed. "I'll talk to my parents again, and this time I'll make them listen."

"I don't doubt it," Scorpius said. "I'll just come along to help you pack."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who likes the thought of Ron and Hermione zapped with a Petrificus Totalus? That would make things too easy for Rose and Scorpius, but it's fun to imagine. The "thousands and thousands of candles" and "golden plates and goblets" were taken from the first HP book, and for Dark Knight fans, yes, Commissioner Goldman is an homage to Gary Oldman. Hope the thought of Harry with a Commissioner Gordon moustache made readers smirk, too, and that you’re looking forward to Rose and Scorpius breaking the living together news to Ron and Hermione. :D


	4. The Parents

 

They Apparated to Thornhill Square and stood side by side watching the Victorian terraced house materialise between its neighbours. Scorpius's stomach clenched as though he'd performed long-distance Apparation.

Rose said, "Dad might be roaming the house in his boxers. We'd better ring the doorbell."

"Yes, let's." His words came out stilted. His body felt leaden. Scorpius cast a Counter Charm without effect.

"You're frowning. What's wrong?" Rose asked.

He told her.

"There's no new security ward," she said. "You're nervous."

"I'm not."

"Malfoys don't get nervous?" Her tone playfully mocked. "They don't have dimples or fall in love with a Weasley, either, I suppose."

"Never," Scorpius said. "But I do."

Rose reached for his hand, linking her fingers with his. "It's going to work out."

He nodded, but despite his resolve, the walk to the front step seemed abnormally long. Rose squared her shoulders and rang the doorbell. "I hope Mum answers."

"Me too." Her father might yank Rose inside and slam the door in Scorpius's face.

They both relaxed their grip on each other's hand when Rose's mother opened the door, although Hermione’s attire of satin lounging pyjamas made Scorpius uneasy. Ron could be wearing black and white dotted silk boxers to match.

"Hello, Scorpius. Rose, we didn't expect you until later."  _Alone_ was implied.

Rose said, "I changed my mind."

Hermione’s face lost colour. "He can't sleep over. Ronald . . . I can't even imagine."

Scorpius had no problem conjuring mental images. Painful ones.

Rose's cheeks burned red. "That's not what I meant."

"We'd like to talk to you and Mr. Weasley," Scorpius said.

Rose asked, "Is Dad in the lounge?"

"Listening to a sports talk program on the Wireless." Colour had returned to Hermione's face. "If the Cannons are predicted to do poorly he'll welcome the interruption." She led the way down the corridor.

They entered the lounge, an informal room with comfortable furniture and soft rugs accenting dark oak floors. Ron sprawled on a sofa, eyes closed, muttering slurs against the wireless announcer while eating crisps from a bowl balanced on his chest. He wore black lounging pyjamas, and the crisp bowl teetered with every exhalation.

Hermione said, "If I have to use another Cleaning Charm to remove grease stains I'm buying linen slipcovers, Ronald."

"No you won't. They wrinkle." Ron opened his eyes and promptly sat up, sending crisps and bowl tumbling. "What's he doing here?"

" _Evanesco!_ " his wife cried.

Ron yelped. "That was three packets of cheese and onion." He scowled at Scorpius.

"Displacing anger doesn't help anything," Hermione said. "They want to talk."

"About what?"

"Why don't we have a seat and let them tell us?"

Rose's parents sat on the sofa, leaving chairs separated by the length of a coffee table. Scorpius moved an ottoman to the side of a chair so he and Rose could maintain a united front.

"Well?" Ron said. "Go ahead. Talk."

"I don't want to live at home during Ministry training," Rose blurted out. "I only agreed because you convinced me it was the sensible thing to do."

"It's the only way to save money," Ron said.

Hermione asked, "Would you rather live in a bedsit? That's all I could afford as a trainee."

Ron added, "She had to clean a grotty communal shower every morning to avoid foot fungus."

"She didn't have to, she chose to," Rose shot back. "Nana and Granddad have nice bathroom suites. I bet you didn't tell her to stay with them and save money."

Scorpius tried to defuse the father/daughter glaring match. "Rose has more alternatives than a bedsit."

"Yes, of course," Hermione said. "Roxanne shared that one of her flatmates is getting married. Rose could—"

"—I'm moving in with Scorpius."

Rose's parents stared. A flush swept up Ron’s throat and darkened his face. "Moving in?" He spoke each syllable as if trying to sound out words in a foreign language.

"Count to twenty, Ron," Rose's mother said. She took a deep breath. "I know you've been spending a lot of time together since you left school."

"Holiday," Ron said. "You've been on holiday." His eyes narrowed. "Holidays end."

"This isn't a summer romance, Dad. We're partners."

Ron turned his incredulous gaze on Scorpius. "Is that right?"

"Yes, sir."

"Equal partners? She's paying half the expenses?"

"Money has nothing to do with it," Hermione said sharply. "You earn more Galleons selling wizard wheezes than I make working for the Ministry. Am I not your equal?"

Ron shook his head. "You're loads smarter . . . and beautiful . . . and more forgiving . . . ."

"Oh, Ronald." Hermione sighed. "I know you're concerned. We both are." She told Scorpius, "How will your grandfather react?"

"Or those friends of yours, the Knights of Walpurgis?" A muscle jumped in Ron’s cheek, but his voice remained calm.

"I'm not planning on telling anyone," Scorpius said. "It's no one else's concern."

"Not even your parents?" Hermione asked.

"No." They already assumed he and Rose were living together.

"I'll keep some books and clothes in my old room," Rose said. "I'll visit. Mum and I can have lunch together." Her voice wobbled. "You aren't losing me."

"Aw, Rosie." Ron stood, and then Rose and her parents were embracing.

Scorpius rose to his feet and took a step back, out of group hug range. He glanced at his watch. "It's getting late," he said, "and you three have Ministry . . . things . . . to discuss. Any packing can be done tomorrow."

Rose left the family circle to hug him. "Wait up for me."

His lips curved. "Always."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone interested in how weird things inspire, I was writing the part where Scorpius and Rose are following Hermione to the lounge, thinking about whether to have Ron sitting in a chair or lying on the sofa, when lines from You're Pitiful (Weird Al Yankovic's parody of James Blunt's Your Beautiful) came to mind:
> 
> You're half-undressed, eating chips off your chest, playing Halo 2, no one's classier than you . . . .
> 
> As much as I like Ron, without Hermione the man would be pitiful. Anyone interested in a Lily Luna Potter story is cordially invited to read my just posted one-shot Lily Go Round.


	5. Job Conflict

 

Scorpius awoke to gentle sunlight and the sound of birds in the forest: Rose's favourite setting on his lamp alarm. He turned to kiss her good morning and found the bed empty. He cast a Sonorous Charm. "Rose?"

_"In the kitchen. I'm making breakfast."_

He tossed the covers aside.

Rose stood at the cooker, wearing his grey dressing gown. Her eyes widened when she saw him, and then she laughed. "Is that what all traditional wizards wear under their business robes?"

"Grandfather wears business suits." Scorpius strolled over to watch her dish scrambled eggs onto plates alongside cantaloupe slices and prosciutto. "I'm not wearing robes."

"So I see." Rose lifted a pitcher of orange juice. "I'd conjure boxer shorts if you want to eat on the terrace."

He took her advice but set their plates on the breakfast bar. "I'm not wearing robes to the office."

Rose sloshed juice over the rim of a glass. "What will Lucius say?"

"Grandfather will probably offer the services of his tailor." Scorpius used a charm to clean the spill. "When I decline . . . I'm not certain how he'll react."

"Then why do it?" She handed him their drinks and sat on a stool next to him.

Scorpius ate a forkful of eggs. "My compliments to the chef."

"They're over-cooked."

"Not at all." He silently chanted  _Resilio_ and dropped a piece of egg on the marble countertop to bounce.

"Ha-ha. They're a little dry, not rubbery. I got distracted."

"Were you thinking about Ministry training?" Sonorous charms amplified tone as well as volume. She'd sounded tense. "Is that why you woke before the alarm?"

Rose gazed at him steadily. "Answer my question and I'll tell you."

So much for his attempts at distraction, not that they were anything more than a stalling tactic. He said, "If I wear robes Grandfather will take it for granted that I'll fall into line in other areas."

"The Knights of Walpurgis. I thought that was the plan."

"I reconsidered. Grandfather likes to say nothing worth having is gained without effort. That works to our advantage. Grandfather's efforts to—"

"—turn you to the Dark side—"

"—will open doors and access to information faster than a dinner invitation." Weasleys weren't the only ones who could manoeuvre around interruptions to finish a sentence.

Rose said, "Then the barbecue is off?"

"No, and I believe it's my turn for an answer."

"Mmm." She became absorbed in slicing her cantaloupe.

Since his earlier attempt at humour had fallen flat, Scorpius didn't ask if the sound was an agreement or her version of a meditative Om. He ate his breakfast and waited.

Eventually, Rose said, "I've applied to train with two departments, Magical Law and Magical Beings. I thought I could use the law to help magical beings, like Mum." She toyed with her scrambled eggs, dividing them into piles with her fork. "Becoming a legal advocate is still a workable option."

But not one that filled her with enthusiasm. "What's the alternative?"

"Magical Beings social care advocacy." She skewered a piece of cantaloupe on a fork tine. "It doesn't pay as much."

"Does that matter?"

She made a face. "Some people—"

"—are idiots."

His assertion earned a smile. "The salary isn't enough to pay half the mortgage on this flat."

"There is no mortgage." Scorpius raised an eyebrow. "Your mother said money has nothing to do with being equal partners. Didn't you believe her?"

"Yes."

He finally understood: Rose needed to hear it from him. He said, "We're equal in all ways that matter, and I want that to be true in job satisfaction as well. Do what makes you happy."

She leaned over and kissed him. Rose, when it suited her, had a delightful way of taking things literally.

 

An hour and a half later, Scorpius approached the Malfoy Enterprises Building located off St. James' street. The employee entrance was at the rear of the building, but Scorpius strode through the front door. Wizard paintings and sculpture gave the marble-tiled reception area the appearance of private museum. Behind a curved desk, a security troll protected access to the Floos on the back wall. His grey skin and comparatively short stature identified the troll as a rock troll, the most intelligent of the species.

"You're new," Scorpius said. "I'm Scorpius Malfoy."

"Appointment?" asked the troll in a rumbling voice.

"I'm the new Head of Operations." Scorpius walked closer to read the nametag on the troll's grey vest. "Sendak." He extended a hand. "Pleasure to meet you."

Sendak's massive fingers briefly engulfed Scorpius's hand. "Need robes."

"I'll be wearing suits to the office." When Sendak didn't respond, Scorpius said, "If dress code enforcement was part of your job description, it ends today." He watched Sendak's eyes for any flicker of movement that would betray intent to lunge and seize hold. Rock trolls moved faster than they spoke, but if necessary, Scorpius could levitate out of reach. After that, he'd have to get creative with jinxes and hexes. Trolls shrugged off most spells.

Sendak slowly nodded. "Not job."

"That's right." Smart troll. He might deserve a pay rise. Scorpius bid Sendak good morning and headed for the central Floo.

The stares that greeted him on the executive floor reminded Scorpius of the first time he'd walked Rose to class. He pretended not to notice—the same as he'd done at Hogwarts—and strolled as if he hadn't a care in the world.

Mrs. Tacit, his grandfather's personal assistant, waved him into the corner office with the trace of a smile on her usually stoic face.

Grandfather Lucius saw him and frowned.

Scorpius said, "I met the new security troll."

"Sendak. He's the best there is."

And of course his grandfather had to have the best. "What happened to Gorignak?"

"Night shift." Grandfather's tone dismissed the subject. He waited for Scorpius to sit in one of the chairs facing the desk and said, "If purchasing the flat left you low on Galleons, I'll instruct my tailor to put your robes on my account."

Scorpius brushed a speck of lint off his suit jacket. His grandfather knew he wasn't short of funds. "I wasn't aware that Malfoy Enterprises had a dress code."

"The traditions of this company  _inspire_ employees to dress in a suitable manner."

Scorpius wasn't inspired or intimidated. He said, "I'm saving my robes for Formal Fridays."

"Never heard of such a thing."

That was because Scorpius had just invented it. "It's the opposite of Muggle Casual Fridays, dressing up instead of down."

His grandfather leaned back in his chair, considering. "How often do you intend to observe these Formal Fridays?"

Scorpius made a quick decision. "Every week."

"See that you don't forget." His grandfather made a show of checking his watch. "Don't you have a meeting to attend?"

The first of many. Personnel, Property, Legal Affairs, and Strategy and Marketing were all sub-departments of Operations. Scorpius stood. "Are you available for lunch?"

"Of course. I'm taking you to my club."

The Walpurgis Club.

Scorpius said, "I suppose I'll need wizard robes."

Grandfather Lucius smiled. "I'll send an owl to my tailor."

 


	6. Unexpected Meetings

 

Scorpius headed to his own corner office, which was far less grand in size and view. Frank Pawsey, the new Head of Personnel, stood beside Mrs. Jamieson's desk chatting about the weather. She looked up and said, "Your eight o'clock appointment has arrived, Mr. Malfoy."

The time was 7:50.

Pawsey said, "I popped round early to catch up with Adeline here. She was the finest PA I ever had."

The oily smile that accompanied the compliment raised Scorpius's suspicions. Mrs. Jamieson was an attractive woman in her fifties. Pawsey was a few years older. Had he sexually harassed her?

Mrs. Jamieson ignored the praise. "Shall I make tea, Mr. Malfoy?"

"Earl Grey for me." Pawsey said. "Milk, no sugar. I'm sure you remember."

"Yes," Mrs. Jamieson replied coolly. She asked Scorpius, "For you, sir?"

" _Qilaishan Long Wu_." Scorpius led the way into his office.

"I'd heard they'd redecorated," Pawsey said. "Bit minimalist for my taste. Scandinavian design?"

"Italian."

Pawsey sat in one of the chairs facing Scorpius's desk. "You're not wearing robes. Another attempt to break the chain?"

Scorpius used one of his grandfather's tactics. He leaned back in his chair and fixed a penetrating gaze on his target. "Meaning?"

"No one lasts as Head of Operations. It's a company joke. They call it Defence Against the Dark Arts." He didn't sound amused.

Scorpius knew why. "What did they call you?"

"Quirrell. A distant relation. You'll probably be Snape."

"Doubtful." Not that he wouldn't take the name as a compliment, regardless of the intent. His father and grandfather had both taught him to revere the man, although for different reasons. "The situation has changed."

Resentment flickered in Pawsey's eyes before he schooled his expression to one of affability. "Of course. You're a Malfoy. That's how you get away with not wearing robes." He chuckled. "Must be nice to have job security."

"Yes, it is." Scorpius opened a file. "You've headed the personnel department for three weeks. How many employee grievances were filed during that time?"

"None," Pawsey said smugly.

"What about your predecessor? How many grievances did he redress?"

"I-I'm not sure."

"None," Scorpius said. "And Nigel Esterson was Head of Personnel for twenty years. Explain that to me."

Pawsey shrugged. "Expunged records."

"Security wards prevent file tampering."

A look of alarm crossed Pawsey's face. "Then there haven't been any grievances."

No one in the history of the company had ever protested a demotion or transfer? All employees felt management policies were fair? Scorpius said, "There were no grievances because there was no procedure for filing disputes, and no management training to ensure acknowledgement and review." He closed the file. "I expect you to rectify that oversight."

Pawsey's jaw went slack.

Scorpius slid the file across the polished desktop. "I've studied the procedures of other companies, and these are my recommendations. Send me your implementation plan by the end of the week."

"Impossible. I have other—"

"Delegate the job if needed, but get it done."

Pawsey was still glowering, red faced, when Mrs. Jamieson brought in the tea tray. Scorpius thanked her and noted the bright green colour of his tea before taking a sip.

"What's that Qweeshan stuff you're drinking?" Pawsey asked.

" _Qilaishan Long Wu_. Dragon's Fog." The Taiwanese Oolong was grown on rocky soil at high elevation, conditions that gave the tea a complexity that would be lost on someone who gulped down Earl Grey like water. Scorpius waited until Pawsey finished his tea and said, "Tomorrow at the Operations meeting I expect each department head to give a brief."

Pawsey smirked. "Including your father? You do know he got transferred to Legal Affairs."

Inflection gave "transferred" another meaning: demoted. Scorpius kept his expression blank, denying Pawsey the reaction he so obviously wanted. "All department heads." A brush of a fingertip against the silver inkwell engaged its Protean charm.

The office door opened.

"Show Mr. Pawsey out and bring in the morning post." Scorpius lifted his teacup and, once he was alone, used a vanishing spell on the lukewarm tea.

Mrs. Jamieson returned pushing a mail trolley. She removed a teapot shaped like a sea dragon from the upper basket. "I took the liberty of preparing another infusion."

He conjured a second teacup. "Please join me."

"Thank you." She poured the tea.

Scorpius shared that employees would soon be able to file grievances—even on past offenses—and then asked about the post. Mrs. Jamieson reassured him that the amount was unusual and that half the letters were charitable requests or business invitations.

"Word travels fast," Scorpius said. "Did you know about my father's transfer?"

"No, sir." She paused. "It must have happened over the weekend."

Word about promotions and demotions usually travelled through her level of staff before that of any department head. How had Pawsey known?

Mrs. Jamieson's troubled expression revealed a similar unease. "Shall I ask security to run a sweep of the building, sir?"

"Not yet," Scorpius said. "Get me the personnel files of the security team. Discreetly."

"Yes, sir." Mrs. Jamieson rose to her feet.

By the time she returned, he had sorted the post into three piles: soon, later, and never. He used a Vanishing Spell on the last pile and filed the other two in a desk drawer.

Mrs. Jamieson handed him a stack of folders. "Alun Drax's file was missing. The personnel clerk believes Mr. Pawsey keeps it in his office." Her tone was that of someone delivering bad news. "She believes every department head's file is kept in Mr. Pawsey's office."

"Knowledge is power? I'll go through these between meetings so you can return them before lunch." He glanced at the leather planner on his desk. The 11:30 appointment was the Head of Legal Affairs. He didn't think it was a coincidence.

"Will that be all, Mr. Malfoy?"

He nodded. "This afternoon, I'd like you to give your impressions of the security staff, relate any incidences—"

"There are many," Mrs. Jamieson said. "Beg pardon for the interruption." She gathered the tea things and left him studying the file of one Barnaby Goggins.

By 11:30, Scorpius had finished scanning the security team member files. He gave them to Mrs. Jamieson to return to her contact and decided to go down to Legal Affairs for his last meeting. His father was the only department head guaranteed not to resent a boss fresh out of Hogwarts. He deserved special treatment.

"Scorpius!" Draco Malfoy stepped out of a Floo as Scorpius was reaching for the box of Floo Powder.

"I was going to surprise you," Scorpius said.

"You've done that by not wearing robes." His father smiled. "Come show me your office." He took a camera out of a pocket. "Your mother wants me to take a couple of pictures of you at your desk. Our son the businessman, all grown up."

"All right." Scorpius brought his father into the office, let him take the pictures, and then asked, "When did you become the head of Legal Affairs?"

"Last night."

"Because of me."

"Not in the way that you think. I've wanted less hours and responsibility for years."

There were other departments that practically ran themselves. Departments that didn't fall under Operations. "He wasn't trying to help you."

"But he did. I get to spend more time with my son."

Scorpius liked the sound of that. "Are you free for lunch tomorrow?"

"Why wait? I haven't learned enough yet about my new position to warrant a meeting, so we may as well beat the crowd. Where do you want to go? The Gnome and Jarvey?"

"I can't. I've made other plans." Scorpius checked his watch. Still enough time to get his father out of the office. "Why don't you show me around the legal department and introduce me to your staff?"

"I wouldn't remember half their names. I only introduced myself this morning."

Scorpius heard the click of a door handle turning. He hadn't touched the inkwell.

His father gave him a knowing look. "You're having lunch with Rose."

Grandfather Lucius strolled into the room, a set of robes draped over his arm. "No," he drawled. "Scorpius is having lunch with me."

 


	7. Walpurgis Club

 

"At his club," Scorpius said before Grandfather Lucius could find a way to make the situation worse. "I didn't think you'd want to attend."

"I don't," his father replied. "Most wizards who frequent that establishment aren't the sort I wish to associate with. I thought you felt the same."

Scorpius did and he didn't. "The club is just a place to eat."

"Yes, yes, let's not  _overthink_ the matter," Grandfather said dryly. He held out the robes to Scorpius. "For you, dear boy."

"Your tailor works fast."

"I'm his best customer." Grandfather raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you going to see how they fit?"

"Perpetuate the charade that they were sewn this morning instead of the day he agreed to join the company?" Scorpius's father asked. His jaw tightened. "He's humoured you enough."

"Is that right?" Grandfather’s smile had a dagger in it.

"I want to go, Dad," Scorpius said. He used the informality to show that he wasn't being coerced. "Edgar might be there." He hadn't seen his best mate in months—since the day Gregory Goyle, Edgar's father, was sent to Azkaban for kidnapping and attempted murder.

Scorpius's father still looked concerned, but he nodded. "We'll have lunch together some other time." He strode out of the office.

"Draco storms off pouting. Some things never change," Grandfather Lucius said.

Scorpius repressed the urge to defend his father. "But some things do."

His grandfather smiled.

 

The Walpurgis Club was within easy walking distance, but Grandfather Lucius preferred to Apparate to the side alleyway to allow Scorpius to put on his robes. The motive behind the concern for privacy became apparent when a trio of photographers lounging around the front entrance sprang to attention and began taking pictures.

"Does Rose Weasley know where you're having lunch?" one of the men called out.

Scorpius ignored him and addressed the photographer he recognized: Crispin Pry, a former Beater on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team. "I saw your by-line in the  _Prophet_ last week. Are you on staff?"

Crispin's burly shoulders slumped. "No. Still freelance."

"Then you're available to work for me," Scorpius said. "Come by my office."

"You don't want him," the third photographer said. "I've got the most experience."

"No, I do," said the one who'd asked about Rose.

The argument continued while the doorman ushered Scorpius and his grandfather into the Walpurgis Club.

Grandfather chuckled. "Finessed like a true Malfoy."

Perhaps, but the job offer had been real. Scorpius took in the silk and velvet upholstered groupings of furniture that gave the entrance hall the air of a massive Regency drawing room. He asked, "Is this where they hold the children's parties?"

"The ones your parents never allowed you to attend? Yes." His grandfather shrugged. "Hordes of unruly children gorging on sweets. You didn't miss much."

He'd missed the chance to make a wider circle of childhood friends than his Niffler Felix and Edgar. "I'm surprised you admit it."

"You're here now," his grandfather said simply. He gestured to the door held open by another green-robed employee. "Shall we?"

At the end of a torch-lit corridor, the dining hall continued the green and silver colour scheme of the entry, with dark wood panelling evoking a more masculine, almost medieval, atmosphere. Mounted on wide wood coving around the perimeter of the ceiling, the heads of house-elves seemed to await commands to provide service. Scorpius glanced away. "What's this called? The Salazar room?"

"I'll suggest it at the next meeting, right after I demand the maître d's dismissal for making us stand here instead of showing us to our table."

Two wizards, one in staff robes, the other wearing black edged with Slytherin green entered the dining hall through a side door. Scorpius said, "Looks like the maître d went to get the club manager."

"As he should have. Grandfather visibly relaxed. "This is a momentous occasion."

Scorpius smiled over the vanity, but the manager seemed to share his grandfather's opinion. He greeted them effusively and insisted on escorting them to their table next to the window overlooking the courtyard garden. A server hurried over.

"Everyone acts like you own the place," Scorpius said after the server rushed away to put in their order of lobster paired with a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc.

"I'm one of the largest shareholders," his grandfather replied. "Rank has its privilege, but any member can reserve a table." He looked past Scorpius. "Including Edgar Goyle."

Scorpius turned and saw Edgar seated at a table for two near the service doors. He wasn't alone. Scorpius asked, "Why is Marianne Willoughby allowed in hall? You told me women were only permitted to dine on special occasions."

"Today is special—to them, at least. Didn't you see the announcement in the  _Prophet_?"

"What announcement?" He'd had breakfast with Rose. Neither of them had cared about reading the paper.

Grandfather Lucius said, "They got married."


	8. Wedding Blues

 

Married.

Edgar was  _married._

Scorpius remembered a conversation that had taken place six months earlier after Easter Holiday.

 

_Edgar asked, "Will you stand with me at the joining ceremony?"_

_"Not if it's soon." His friend was eighteen, only really knew the girl through letters. It would be mental to rush._

_"The betrothal lasts a year," Edgar said._

_"And you're sure I'm the best man?" Scorpius had to ask. "Things have changed."_

_"Doesn't matter. You'll see."_

 

Scorpius said, "I'm going to offer my congratulations. Will you send over a bottle of champagne?"

His grandfather pursed his lips. "Sparkling wine. Domestic."

That would suffice. Scorpius weaved his way through the maze of tables, saying hello to acquaintances. He paused to chat briefly with his former Hogwarts dorm-mate, Nathaniel Nott, who glanced over at Edgar and asked in a hushed voice, "Could've blown me over when I read the announcement. Why the hasty wedding? Is Marianne pregnant?"

"I wouldn't know."

Nathaniel's long face became doleful. "People lose touch when they leave school. Shame, really. We should get the gang back together."

Scorpius could learn useful information from his former house-mates. "Owl the time and date and I'll be there."

"Yeah? Brilliant!"

A few tables away, the new Mrs. Goyle stared at Scorpius with wide eyes. She looked like a Dresden shepherdess with her upswept hair and sky blue dress robes. Edgar sat beside her, solemn and hulking. The antithesis of a happy bridegroom, and Scorpius knew why: his friend had feelings for another girl.

"I hear congratulations are in order." Scorpius kissed Marianne's cheek and shook his friend's hand. "Did you forget to owl my invitation?"

Edgar smiled a little. "It was a small ceremony."

"Held at Mrs. Goyle's bedside," Marianne said. "Just us and my parents. My brother Guy wasn't even there. She had to limit the number of people. Her heart, you know."

"No, I didn't." How Slytherin of Millicent Goyle to continue manipulating others from her deathbed. He asked Edgar, "Are the Healers at St. Mungo's allowing visitors? My grandparents will want to pay their respects." Scorpius didn't mention his father. The Goyles hadn't spoken to Draco Malfoy since the war.

"Mother's at home, resting comfortably as possible," Edgar said.

Of course she was. He'd ruined his life for her. What more could a hag of a mother want? The simultaneous arrival of a server with Edgar and Marianne's lunch and the wine steward presenting a bottle of Taittinger Brut La Francaise compliments of "Les Messieurs Malfoy" gave Scorpius an excuse to congratulate the couple a final time and return to his grandfather.

"You sent champagne," Scorpius said as he resumed his seat.

 "It was non-vintage."

For some reason, Scorpius laughed.

His grandfather took a sip of wine. "What's so amusing?"

Nothing, really. "Today has been a lot different than I expected."

Grandfather Lucius raised his glass in an ironic toast. "And it's only lunch."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is over three times longer than this one, which is short because finding out Edgar married Marianne was a shock that took time to process--for me as well as Scorpius, heh. Although I know the beginning, ending, and a few points in the middle when I start a fic, I do the Stephen King "fossil" method of uncovering a story a bit at a time as I write, which sometimes leads to discoveries that make me take a step back and reassess before brushing off new bones. :)


	9. Changing Plans

 

Dining at the Walpurgis club reminded Scorpius of Hogwarts, except that all the staring eyes belonged to alumni of Slytherin. The mix of interest and hostility his presence evoked was conveyed with sidelong looks and the nonstop buzz of conversation. Grandfather Lucius basked in the attention, devouring his grilled lobster as if notoriety was a tastier seasoning that lemon or salt. Scorpius ate enough to avoid offending the chef while he noted who appeared welcoming and who did not.

At the end of the meal, he glimpsed Edgar and Marianne leaving the hall.

"Newlyweds," Grandfather Lucius said coolly. "So eager to be alone that they forget their manners."

Scorpius said, "I'm sure they'll send a letter to thank you for the champagne."

The steel in his grandfather's eyes tempered. "How loyal you are." He made a strength sound like a flaw. "They don't deserve it."

Perhaps not, but Scorpius refused to give up on a friend. He set his knife and fork on his plate, tines down, to signal that he was finished. On the back of the handles was a monogram.

"Admiring the silver?" his grandfather asked.

Scorpius said, "In chemistry, K W stands for the equilibrium constant of water."

Grandfather Lucius replied, "In the wizarding world, the letters stand for something far more powerful."

_Kneazle whiskers?_  The flippant words hovered on the edge of Scorpius's tongue. If he spoke them, his grandfather would take the hint and steer the conversation in another direction, and Scorpius would find another source of information about the Knights of Walpurgis. He asked, "Past or present?"

Grandfather Lucius smirked. "You know the answer." He set his cutlery down and a trio of wait staff approached to remove their plates and offer dessert. He waved them away and rose to his feet, tossing his serviette onto the tablecloth.

Scorpius followed his grandfather's lead until they were outside, and then he quickened his pace to reach the alley first and Apparate. Only when he entered the lobby of Malfoy Enterprises did he realise that he still wore robes. Scorpius took them off and heard a faint rustle, not of paper, but something almost metallic. He was checking the interior pockets when his grandfather strolled through the door.

"Lost something in the  _rush_  to get back, have we?" Grandfather Lucius asked.

"No, sir."

"Well, you've creased the fabric.  I'll have my assistant spell-press your robes."

"No need," Scorpius replied.

His grandfather held out a hand, clearly expecting to be given the robes. "I disagree. Appearance is everything."

"I meant that I can cast my own spells."

His grandfather slanted a look at Sendak, the security troll, who watched impassively behind his marble-fronted station. Malfoys didn't quarrel in front of staff. "Very well," he said.

Scorpius waited until his grandfather had Flooed to his office to tell Sendak, "I need your assistance."

Sendak nodded. "Job."

"More of an experiment I'd prefer to you to keep quiet about, actually." Scorpius laid his robes on the floor. "Step on this."

Sendak lumbered over.

"Wait." Scorpius took out his wand and cast an Amplifying Charm on the robes. "Do it now."

Sendak raised a gigantic foot and stomped. A tinkling sound echoed.

"Broke," Sendak said. He backed away.

Scorpius picked up his robes and shook them out. Silvery dust floated in the air. "They don't make Trackingbralls like they used to." A trade-off, he supposed. The Trackingbrall's minute size allowed it to avoid detection when sewn into clothing, but lacked the hardness to withstand a troll's weight. He found a smudge on the inside lining of the hem and then cleaned the remains with a Vanishing Charm. "Thank you for your assistance."

"Won't mention." Sendak plodded back to the security station.

Scorpius headed for the Floo. By the time he reached his office, he had decided that Grandfather Lucius wasn't responsible for the Trackingbrall. The placement wasn't clever enough. Someone else had bribed the tailor.

His office door was open and his assistant's voice rang out. "Mr. Cole, I must insist you wait outside until Mr. Malfoy returns."

Scorpius entered the room. "Thank you, Mrs. Jamieson, you may go." He ignored the wizard fidgeting in one of the visitor's chairs and hung his robes in the wardrobe concealed behind a wall panel. He took his seat behind the desk and removed the property department file from a drawer, leisurely skimming the pages while Mitchell Cole, Head of Property, drummed his fingers. Scorpius didn't glance up until the clock struck two.

Cole said, "I didn't arrive early to twiddle my thumbs. At Malfoy Enterprises, we believe time is money." He reminded Scorpius of an aging Bull Terrier with his egg-shaped head and small dark eyes.

Scorpius replied, "As a Malfoy, my money buys your time. Don't barge past my assistant again."

"Yes,  _sir_." Cole jabbed a finger toward the file on the desk. "I trust your review of my department found everything in order?"

Scorpius withdrew an acquisition proposal. "Except this. Iron Mountain Storage."

"One of the buildings Rosier Industries is putting on the market. Should turn a profit after redevelopment."

"According to Rosier." Scorpius returned the proposal to the file. "I'll complete my own analysis and inform you of my decision."

Cole spluttered, "Inform?"

"Yes. Good day." Scorpius tapped the silver inkwell, and for the second time, Mrs. Jamieson escorted a furious department head out the door.

His final meeting went more smoothly. Hugh Travers, the Head of Marketing and Advertising, seemed delighted to work for the future CEO of Malfoy Enterprises. Unlike Pawsey and Cole, Travers answered all questions about his department with a smile. He smiled so often, in fact, that Scorpius noticed that the wizard's teeth glowed: the result of too many whitening spells.

After Travers showed himself out, Scorpius tried to imagine hosting a barbeque for his department heads. Pawsey would leer at Rose; Cole would check his watch every other minute; Travers would grin like a jack-o'-lantern, and Father would take Scorpius aside and ask what the hell he was doing.

"Changing plans," Scorpius muttered. He informed Mrs. Jamieson that he was leaving.

 

Rose didn't arrive home until a quarter past six. Reddish-brown tendrils had escaped her practical updo, and her shoulders slumped beneath her Ministry robes.

"Rough first day?" he asked after a kiss.

She made a face. "I took so many notes my fingers cramped."

He held her right hand and pressed small circles down each finger before pulling upward in a gentle stretch. When she sighed, he said, "Thank you. I learned from the best."

Rose gave a tired-sounding giggle. "I can't believe I massaged your hand like this in front of my parents."

The first time she’d brought Scorpius home, Ronald Weasley had demanded a wizard handshake to ensure a Malfoy wouldn't take advantage of his daughter. Actual pins and needles stabbing into Scorpius's flesh would have stung less than the binding spell. He said, "It was worth the pain."

"Mmm." She drew in a breath and asked, "Do I smell Italian food?"

"I ordered Franco's Pizza." Her favourite.

Rose's heavy eyelids opened wide. "You picked up Muggle take away? After working at Malfoy Enterprises?"

She made buying dinner sound like a feat of Gryffindor boldness. "I left the office early. No one saw me," he said.

Her gaze narrowed. "How early?"

He'd had time to get in a workout and shower before Apparating to the restaurant. "Early enough," he said. "I hope you approve my choice of flowers."

Rose walked into the dining room where a bouquet of rainbow-hued orchids decorated the table set for two. He conjured a red rose. "As fair art thou," he said.

She took the rose and brushed its petals against her cheek. "I love that poem."

When he was a third-year forced to listen to schoolmates read aloud in Muggle Studies, Scorpius had theorised that Robert Burns was a squib descended from Hufflepuffs. Now, he could acknowledge a possible Slytherin quality: using any means to gain the end of sharing feelings. He said, "As fair art thou, my bonnie lass, so deep in love am I. And I will love thee still, my dear, till a' the seas gang—"

Her mouth snatched the word "dry" off his lips, not that he minded. Rose made a contented sound in her throat. He pulled the hair grip pins out of her hair and let them drop to the floor.

Rose kicked off her low-heeled court shoes and unfastened her robes. "Do you know what I want to do right now?"

He was up for anything. "What?"

She leaned against him and sighed. "I want to eat pizza in bed."

Scorpius lifted her into his arms.

 

A shared bottle of wine and Margherita Pizza later, Rose finished telling about her day and asked, "So how was your first day of being Head of Operations? Did you eat chateaubriand while I was picking at imitation crab salad?"

Scorpius told her about the Walpurgis Club and Edgar's new bride.

Rose clenched her fists. "How could he? What about Teryn?"

Teryn Higgs was a werewolf, an animal to be disposed of to a witch like Millicent Goyle. "He's trying to protect her."

"But you don't think it will work."

"We'll see," Scorpius said.

"How?"

Scorpius used a Vanishing Charm on the empty pizza box. Another charm removed crumbs from the sheets. He said, "The barbeque on Saturday. I've decided not to invite colleagues."

Rose proved yet again that she was the brightest witch of their age. She asked, "Who are you inviting instead?"

He answered, "My old schoolmates."


	10. Pillow Talk

 

His change of plans affected more than the guest list. The barbeque was off. Rose didn't understand at first why he would invite colleagues to his home for dinner, but not schoolmates. He massaged her back while he explained that colleagues would view the penthouse as an extension of his position at Malfoy Enterprises. The reminder of his unattainable wealth and privilege would ease tension in the workplace. Former schoolmates, on the other hand, would not respond as equably to the implication that he was top tier and they were not.

Rose lifted her head off the pillow to slant a doubting look over her shoulder. "But playing host at a club won't make anyone jealous."

"Only the other patrons," he said. Scorpius traced her spine with his fingertips. "The dining room at Lumos Duo is surrounded by a curtain of fairy strings to ensure that everyone in the club below catches glimpses of your party."

Her lips curved. "Because every Slytherin wants to be the centre of attention."

" _Volvo!"_ The spell flipped Rose onto her back. The lace of her bra rasped against his skin as he pinned her to the mattress.

She said, "I wondered if you would ever pay me back for using that spell on you."

"One good turn deserves another?" The memory of the things he'd wanted to do to Rose that day in her childhood bed distracted him from his train of thought. He kissed her deeply and then feathered kisses across her cheeks to her ear. "I'm more selective."

Rose's fingers sifted through his hair. "About what?"

"Attention." He nipped at her earlobe. "Yours is all I need."

The smile she gave him was so heart-wrenchingly sweet, he jerked in surprise when Rose pinched his bum. "I think you need more than my attention.”  The gleam in her eye was wicked.

Scorpius rolled onto his side to unfasten his waistband clasp before she used a vanishing spell on his favourite trousers.

 

Later, when they were cuddled together in the dark with arms and legs entwined, Rose asked, "Does your company own Lumos Duo? Is that how you know so much about the club?"

"Not exactly," Scorpius replied. "Malfoy Enterprises owns the building and our tenants run the club."

"Did I hear a sneer in your voice when you said 'tenants'?" Rose asked. He heard the smile in her tone when she said, "Let me guess. They're former Hufflepuffs."

"No such thing," he said. "Hufflepuff is a life sentence."

Her unseen fingers danced across his ribs. "Tell me."

She knew all his ticklish spots. He gave in. "The Boot brothers, or as Hugh Travers, Head of Property, calls them, ' _Terry and Barry_.' "

"Definitely a sneer." Soft lips grazed the corner of his mouth. "I feel your lip curling. Is it because the Boots are Ravenclaw stereotypes, clever and smug?"

"No." During their Seventh Year, Terry Boot had asked Rose to go with him to Hogsmeade to make another girl jealous. Rose didn't get her feelings hurt, so Boot's poor taste in women didn't bother Scorpius either. His disdain was for the brother. "Barry Boot played for the Kenmare Kestrels until they bought out his contract last season. The Kestrels' manager stated that it was a wages cap issue, but  _Quidditch Illustrated_  reported that sexual harassment charges were filed against Boot by a succession of team physiotherapists…who all retracted their allegations."

"They were paid off?"

Scorpius said, "Avoiding bad publicity is worth more than Galleons."

" _Incalesco_." Rose's wandless spell kindled the illumination orbs on the bedside tables to a candle's glow. "You think Terry's brother will harass women at the club."

Or worse. "He's created the perfect hunting ground."

Rose's eyes searched his face. After a few moments, she asked, "What position did he play for the Kestrels?"

"Beater."

"Like Uncle George." Rose smirked. "Once, when he knocked Aunt Angelina off her broom during a family Quidditch match, she threatened to use a  _Curvo_  charm to put a kink in his bat—and we all knew she wasn't talking about sports equipment." Rose's mouth thinned. "Don't worry, if he tries anything with me, I'll do more than tell him to get bent."

"I'm not worried." Scorpius cast a spell to douse the light and said, "We'll practice the spell tomorrow."

 

He handwrote the invitations on Malfoy crest stationery. Not practical for large events, but for intimate gatherings, as Grandmother Narcissa always said, it made people feel special. Nathaniel Nott, Guy Willoughby, Orna Bletchley and her friend Magaera Vane—invited to even out the numbers—owled their acceptances the same afternoon. Mr. and Mrs. Edgar Goyle didn't respond until the day before, and it was Marianne's handwriting expressing how much they looked forward to seeing everyone.

"Clever," Rose said when he showed her the note. "If Millicent finds out, Edgar can say his wife accepted, so he had to go."

Slytherin etiquette was more stringent than most. Deaths or hospitalisation were the only acceptable reasons to upset a host's arrangements. "More likely, Guy told his sister about the party and she went home and searched the rubbish bins."

Rose laughed. "And risk chipping her nail varnish? I can't imagine that."

Neither could Scorpius. Marianne had probably used a Summoning Charm.

 

Saturday night, he looked over his wardrobe and chose a long-sleeved button down grey shirt and darker grey jeans.

"I thought you'd wear black," Rose said.

"Not this time." Lumos Duo had black lights, which transformed black fabric into unattractive shades of brown. Her Persian blue mini dress, however, would look amazing under any light. Scorpius traced the edge of the round neckline. "The way you cover up makes me wonder what's underneath."

"I'll show you later." Rose gave him a saucy once-over. "Right now you need to cover up. I don't want to spend all my time in the club hexing."

 

They Apparated to the west end of Diagon Alley. Lumos Duo was located in a narrow building that had once housed a junk shop. Fairies buzzed around the club logo glittering above the door. To the left of the queue, a group of witches and wizards stood chatting. Only one of them wore traditional robes. Edgar.

"I'm so glad he came," Rose whispered.

"If he didn't show, he'd never be invited be invited to a Slytherin party again," Scorpius said. Some breaches in etiquette were unforgivable.

"I'm still glad," Rose said.

Scorpius reached for her hand and held it tight. "So am I."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone has time for more reading, I've posted a lengthy Lily Luna (say that five times fast!) one shot titled Lily Go Lightly. :)


	11. Lumos Duo

Slytherins weren't demonstrative. His friends didn't cry out greetings or exclaim how fantastic everyone looked. They simply fell into line behind Scorpius and Rose. Cameras flashed as their group approached the club. Scorpius ignored the calls to "look over here" and escorted Rose inside.

"Welcome to Lumos Duo." Terry Boot shook Scorpius's hand and grinned at Rose. "You're prettier than ever."

Terry looked like he'd cast one too many self-tanning charms. His skin was almost as bronze as his dragon skin suit. "Interesting place you've got here," Scorpius said. The club had an enchanted ceiling with twin moons in a starlit sky. The dance floor was impressively crowded. At the far end of the room, a pair of DJ's spun orbs that filled the air with pulsing beats. Suspended high above the DJ's stage, the private dining room glittered with fairy lights—fairies perched on iridescent strings.

"Doesn't loud music hurt the fairies' ears?" Rose asked as Terry led them to stairs that lit up when he waved his wand.

"Not at all," Terry replied. "They have their own version of _Muffliato_." He nodded to the barman serving drinks behind the white marble bar and then said to Rose, "We spent a fortune on creating a garden in the back alley. The fairy clan sleeps there all day and parties all night. Not a bad life, eh?"

Scorpius said, "Depends on what you planted in the garden."

"No worries, I consulted with the Department of Magical Creatures." Terry waved them toward the staircase. "Enjoy."

The lights on the stair risers flashed on and off like fireflies, evoking oohs and aahs from clubbers. Bit over the top for Scorpius's taste. He was glad to reach the private room where spells transformed noise into background music. The white-clothed table for eight had enough crystal and silver to please the most discriminating. Rose smiled at the fairies zooming from one perch to another, transparent wings buzzing.

"They must be happy," she said. "They're laughing."

"At us or with us?" Scorpius murmured. He turned to their guests.

Guy Willoughby strode forward, Orna Bletchley clinging to his arm. The colour of Orna's floor-length gown was an exact match of her partner's dark green suit. "I feel overdressed," Guy said with a satisfied grin.

Scorpius shook his hand and politely kissed Orna's cheek. "At this time of night, anything goes." He said hello to Magaera Vane, who had copied her friend's upswept hairstyle and thickly applied makeup.

"I shouldn't have worn black," Nathaniel Nott said after returning Scorpius's greeting. "Looks like dog's dinner under club lights." He caught the glare Magaera tossed his way and flushed. "Not your dress." He looked at Marianne Goyle. "Yours either. Didn't mean that."

"Of course not," Marianne said. She smiled at Scorpius. "It was lovely to receive your invitation." She slipped her hand into the crook of her husband's arm and beamed up at him. "Wasn't it?"

Edgar's expression remained stoic. "Lovely."

"Nathaniel deserves the credit," Scorpius said. "He suggested we get the gang back together."

Nathaniel launched into the story of how they had run into each other at the Walpurgis Club. A house-elf with tired green eyes and a nose like a carrot arrived to serve the wine.

"Hobbes will serve the first course if ladies and sirs is ready," the elf said.

Orna sneered. "Of course we're ready. That's why we're here, stupid."

"Now, darling," Guy said with a chuckle. "The fellow's clothes show he isn't a proper house-elf. You can't expect him to anticipate the wishes of his superiors."

"Superiors?" Rose asked dangerously. "What—"

"What's superior is the cut of his jacket," Scorpius said quickly to prevent a row. Hobbes wore the child-sized white garment like a robe, tied with a matching sash. "I'd like the name of that tailor." It sounded like something his grandfather would say. No one besides Rose lifted an eyebrow. Scorpius told Hobbes, "Yes, we're ready. Thank you."

"Sir is welcome." Plates of scallop ceviche appeared on each silver charger.

Everyone took their places at the table. Scorpius sat between Marianne and Orna. Rose sat between Guy and Nathaniel. Slytherin dinner etiquette required that couples sit apart to facilitate a broader range of conversation, even if the couples were only separated by the width of a table. Rose glanced across at Scorpius with an expression that said  _you owe me_.

The food was more inspiring than the conversation. Orna boasted at great length about the success of the clothing boutique she and Magaera had opened: Pure. During the main course, his other dinner partner shared how much she enjoyed expanding the gardens at Goyle House and taking baskets of flowers and produce to their more indigent tenants.

"Is that safe?" Scorpius asked. Unless Edgar had completed a massive renovation, the neighbourhood of squalid terraced homes was dodgy at best.

"Oh, yes," Marianne answered. "I wait until Magical Law Enforcement arrives to enforce evictions, and then I give them a basket to send them on their way."

"How . . . kind."

"I do what I can for the less fortunate, within reason." Her limpid blue gaze flickered to Rose. "There is such a thing as taking charity too far, not that it can't be remedied." She smiled and ate a morsel of heritage lamb. "Delicious."

_Choke on it._ Scorpius was tempted to cast a wandless spell and make it happen.  _Praefoco Prefoco_  would do the job. He'd learned it from one of Grandfather Lucius's tales about the Knights of Walpurgis. Down the table on his right, Edgar stared at his plate while Orna named all the society-witches who frequented her boutique. Would the new groom attempt to resuscitate his bride? How could he live with her? Did her personality remind him of his mother?

The thud of crystal drew Scorpius's eyes to Rose. Her wine glass lay on the tablecloth. "Oops!" she said. "Slipped right through my fingers." The look on her face was blend of defiance and concern.  _I did it on purpose. What's wrong?_

He stood and walked around the table to pull out Rose's chair. Hobbes immediately appeared. Scorpius said, "Take care of our guests until we return, please."

"Where are we going?" Rose asked when they reached the bottom of the staircase.

Scorpius led her into the crowd. "Dancing."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Readers who thought Marianne couldn't be as nice as she seemed, yes, you're very smart. Shut up. (That's a Princess Bride quote that I couldn't resist using. :D)


	12. Conjured Cup

 

The enchanted ceiling lit up with falling stars in rhythm to the beat. Scorpius headed for the area on the dance floor with the deepest shadows—ironically dead centre—and pulled Rose close. "I needed a break. How about you?" He moved with the music, a slow bounce, at first, and then faster, every beat down with the tempo. When Rose matched his moves, he switched to a half time beat and an up bounce.

Rose laughed. "I'm not doing that!"

He danced in place, moving his hips. Rose edged closer. He shifted behind her, caressing her waist through the fabric of her dress. She tilted her head to gaze up at him. "What did Marianne say to you?"

"Nothing that matters." He breathed in the subtle, sensual aroma of her perfume.

Her body rocked with his. "It matters to me."

" _Move it, witches!_ " Orna, followed by Guy, Nathaniel and Magaera, barrelled through the crowd. When they reached Scorpius and Rose, Orna said, "Naughty boy! We saw you two down here, enjoying yourselves without us."

Scorpius looked up. Behind the strands of fairy lights, a couple stood watching.

"Oh, don't bother about them," Orna said. She pursed black-lined lips. "They don't want to dance. What fun is that?" She jiggled around to the music in a way that her boyfriend, at least, seemed to appreciate.

"None at all," Scorpius answered.

A new song started. They all danced. The experience was surreal, as if one of his idle thoughts at a Slytherin House party—what would happen if he invited Rose Weasley—had come true. When the DJs finally took a break, the group returned to their private room. Edgar and Marianne were gone. Hobbes handed Scorpius a note written on club stationery.

**Mother Goyle finds it impossible to rest until she knows we've returned home safely, but don't let our departure spoil your evening. Dinner was lovely.**

"What does it say?" Orna asked.

Scorpius used a spell to vanish the evidence that his best mate's life was hell. He said, "Marianne was tired," and then asked Hobbes to bring champagne.

Three hours and four bottles of champagne later, the conversational gamut had run from gossip about other Slytherins and the upcoming Quidditch season to reminiscence about Hogwarts days. Couples sat in pairs around the table, although Magaera appeared less than thrilled to be Nathaniel's partner for the evening. She rolled her eyes whenever he stammered out a compliment.

"We should conjure a dartboard," Guy said. His hair stuck out in all directions, whatever styling charm he'd used no match for Orna's talons. "Let Malfoy's girlfriend see what a killer he is."

"Killer is a darts game," Nathaniel added.

"I think I've played it before," Rose said. Her cheeks were slightly flushed from the latest round of dancing. Scorpius lifted an eyebrow. The last time they played Killer, she had distracted him by removing her clothes to win a full body massage. She glanced at him and her colour deepened. She said, "I remember it vividly, actually."

Orna drained the last of her champagne. "Darts are bor-ring."

Guy handed her his glass so she could finish his drink too. "We could pin fairies to the dartboard."

A heartbeat later, the fairies scattered, darkening the room to candlelight.

"They're magical creatures, not insects," Rose said. "They understand our language."

"So I see," Guy replied. He and Orna sniggered. Magaera joined in.

A few minutes later, the door to the room opened.

A wizard encased in black dragon hide squeezed his massive frame through the doorway. Barry Boot affected a Beater persona even off the Quidditch pitch. He said, "Which one of you threatened my fairies?"

Nathaniel gave a nervous chuckle. "No one. It was a joke."

The scowl on Barry's thick-jawed face deepened. "Well, they're hiding in the garden, useless for anything. Somebody's going to pay."

"I already have. I booked this room for the entire night." Scorpius stood. "Not that we're staying. The ambiance is dull without them." He looked at the others. "We'll have coffee in the garden before we go, shall we?"

"Lumos Duo doesn't serve coffee," Barry said.

Grandfather Lucius would have said, "That's unfortunate," and gone home to draw up a notice that the club's rent had doubled. Scorpius replied, "I wouldn't drink it if you did. My standards are much too high. Hobbes will go down the street to the Conjured Cup." When Hobbes didn't move, Scorpius said, "The owner lives above the shop, and he's always willing to fulfil the odd request by special customers. Tell him I want kopi luwak."

Hobbes vanished.

"Hey!" Barry said. "Nobody orders my house-elf around without my say-so. Who do you bloody think you are?"

_Your landlord._ Scorpius smiled faintly. "I'm a customer who expects value for my Galleons," he said. "I'm also a Quidditch fan. The Kestrels are expected to improve this year. They may beat the Cannons yet." He waited for the insult to sink in: The bottom-league Kestrels had improved by getting rid of Barry Boot. The moment never came. Instead of swelling up in anger, Barry puffed out his chest.

"Fan, eh? Mostly, it's the ladies, impressed with the way I handled my bat. Longest in the league, it was." He gave the three women an equal-opportunity leer. "It's hanging on the wall behind the bar if anyone wants to take a gander."

Magaera tittered. Barry winked.

"Some other time," Rose said. "I'd love to see the garden."

"Anything for my fans." Barry led them downstairs, through a service corridor to the employee's entrance.

"Goodnight," Scorpius said when Barry made to follow them into the narrow brick alleyway. "We'll drink our coffee and see ourselves out." He closed the steel door on his host's reluctant farewell.

"Thank Merlin you slammed the door in his face," Orna cried. "What a loser!"

"I thought he was fanciable," Magaera said.

"Probably compensating with the size of that bat," Nathaniel muttered.

Scorpius strolled over to join Rose in front of the long, rectangular garden planter. He said, "Milkweed, lavender, fairy phlox and enough evergreen shrubbery to hide. Your ex-Hogsmeade partner did his research."

Rose leaned down to one of the shrubs. "We would never hurt you," she said. "I'm sorry you were frightened."

A tiny head appeared over the top of a broad leaf and then ducked down again as Hobbes and a wicker tea trolley with an urn and service for six materialised next to the planter.

"Coffee is being served," Hobbes announced.

"No thank you," Rose said. Her tone was pleasant, but her expression told Scorpius that she wanted to go home.

The others wandered over. Guy sniffed his cup before tasting. "Smells expensive," he said. "Higher notes. Something fruity." He took a sip. "The nutty aftertaste is amazing."

"It's fantastic," Nathaniel said.

"Coffee snobs," Orna jeered playfully.

Magaera drank her coffee in two gulps. "Stuff's all right."

"Mags only likes  _Irish_  coffee," Orna said. "The more whiskey, the better."

Scorpius finished his cup and placed it on the trolley. "Thank you, Hobbes. If you'll return the trolley once my friends are done—"

"Hold on," Guy said. "Tell us about this coffee."

"It's one of the most expensive in the world," Scorpius said. "I thought it fit the occasion." Now, with Rose giving him a look that demanded  _What have you done,_  he wished he'd been less annoyed, that he'd ordered something else, coffee from St. Helena or Jamaica's Blue Mountains.

Nathaniel poured himself another cup. "What makes it taste so good?"

"The method of extraction." Scorpius turned to Rose. "Ready to go?"

"How is it extracted?" she asked, clearly paying him back for earlier evasions.

"A tedious process." Pinned by stares, he admitted, "The coffee fruit is…pre-digested…before the coffee bean is extracted."

Nathaniel's eyes bulged. In a squeaky voice, he asked, "Pre-digested by what?"

Scorpius shrugged. "A mongoose."

 


	13. Couple's Row

 

Guy snorted with amusement, but the others looked ready to gag. "It's sterilised," Scorpius said.

Nathaniel blinked like an owl. "The mongoose?"

"The coffee." The wild civet cats that digested the coffee fruit but not the beans were mongoose-like, not actual mongooses, although Nathaniel probably wouldn't care about the distinction. Scorpius thanked Hobbes for his service and asked him to convey his guests' appreciation to Mr. Bean at the Conjured Cup. No one protested when the coffee cups vanished along with the house-elf.

"Full of surprises, jus' like old times. Good show, Malfoy," Guy said. He slid an arm around Orna and Magaera's waists. "Always wanted to try three-way Apparation. Ready, girls?"

"Another night," Scorpius said. He checked his watch. "The Squire Cab I hired is waiting outside the Leaky Cauldron."

"A three-way stroll, then," Guy said, "unless Mags invites Nathaniel to make it a foursome."

"Not in this lifetime," Magaera said.

Guy snickered. "Naught for Nott." The three weaved their way toward the open end of the alley.

Nathaniel's shoulders slumped. "I don't need a ride home, anyway. They drank most of the champagne."

"I apologise for inviting Magaera," Scorpius said. "Was she always such a hag?"

"Yes." Nathaniel sighed.

No accounting for taste, Scorpius supposed. He said, "I'm free for lunch Tuesday. Noon, at the club?"

"Sure. Brilliant!" Nathaniel smiled shyly at Rose. "Nice talking to you at dinner." He Disapparated.

In the silence that followed, Scorpius noticed what had escaped his detection before. There were no wind chimes: a troubling oversight. Fairies were soothed and attracted by the tinkling of bells and chimes. Even on days with no breeze, whispers of air made his mother's fairy garden ring with ethereal music.

"Finally, we can go home," Rose said. She put a hand on her hip. "We need to talk."

"Wait." He took out his wand and conjured a wooden bowl. " _Lactum_." Scorpius placed the milk filled bowl in the planter next to the shrub with broad green leaves, but the fairy who had peeped up at them remained hidden.

"They don't trust us," Rose said. "I can't blame them."

"It's more than that. The plantings are spot on, but there are no wind chimes, no bubbling fountains." Something was wrong. "Can you verify whether Terry actually consulted with an agent from the department of Magical Creatures?"

"Yes, but why would he lie?"

"To impress you."  _And stop my questions._  "Maybe he thought it sounded better than 'I read it in a book'."

Rose shook her head and then Disapparated.

Scorpius reached into his pocket for the money pouch spelled to deaden the rattle of coin and emptied the Galleons into his hand. After casting Transfiguration and Imperturbable Charms, he hung the wind chimes on shrub branch. "There. No one will steal them from you." He brushed a finger across the miniature golden tubes. The resulting chime was followed by the buzz of fairy wings.

 

He found Rose in the penthouse kitchen. The auburn of her hair was a blaze of colour against white tiles and marbled granite. Barefoot, wrapped in his favourite grey robe, she lifted a saucepan from the cooker and poured hot chocolate into white beakers with triple W logos painted on the sides. She handed one to Scorpius.

"Promotional items?" he asked.

"Beakers of Truth. If you don't answer my questions, your milk curdles."

If she'd kept a straight face, he might have believed her, but her lips twitched. Scorpius said, "I'll keep that in mind."

She wrapped her hands around her beaker as if she took comfort from the warmth. "What did Marianne say to you at dinner?"

"Charity can be taken too far." He took a sip of hot chocolate. "You being the charity."

Rose's eyes flashed. "What a bitch. I shouldn't have tipped over my wineglass."

"A well-timed distraction," Scorpius said. He set his beaker on the worktop. He preferred bitter chocolate.

Rose set her beaker down and crossed her arms over her chest. "I saw your expression and thought if looks could kill."

"Choke. I considered making Marianne choke on her words, but I wouldn't have killed her, because if she died, Edgar would be a widower only until  _Mother Goyle_  found a new pure-blood daughter-in-law." Scorpius smiled thinly. "Malfoys don't believe in pointless death."

"That isn't what I meant."

He picked up his beaker of hot chocolate and set it down again. "'This needs something to balance the sweetness." He walked out of the kitchen and into the lounge to the drinks cabinet. He returned with two bottles, peppermint schnapps and tequila.

"Tequila mint?" he asked.

"No thanks."

Scorpius added a splash of schnapps and a double amount of tequila into his beaker. "I'm not getting drunk," he said. "As Nathaniel pointed out, the threesome drank most of the champagne."

"I never thought you'd kill Marianne literally," Rose said.

He drank some of the spiked chocolate and added another shot of tequila. "You worried that I'd murder her figuratively?"

Rose uncrossed her arms and tightened the sash at her waist, but didn't secure it with a bow or a knot. "I worried Guy would notice you staring daggers at his sister." She twisted one of the ends of the sash. "Isn't that why you wanted to dance? You needed a break from sitting next to Marianne?"

"That was one reason." He slid his arms around Rose's waist. "Aren't you going to ask about the others?"

"I think I know." She twined her arms around his neck. They swayed together, slow dancing to the rhythm of heartbeats instead of music. Scorpius slid a finger between her sash and robe and tugged.

Rose said, "You could have ruined the evening by ordering that coffee. Why did you do it?"

She was ruining the mood by asking non-stop questions. "It was supposed to be a private joke about my Patronus." He couldn't remember his schoolmates ever drinking coffee at Hogwarts. Everyone drank tea. Scottish Breakfast in the mornings, drowned in milk by the house-elves. "You were the one who insisted on knowing how it was processed."

"Do  _you_  know how it's processed?" Her arms dropped to her sides.

He gave her sash a final tug. "Villagers scavenge the forests for scat and extract the beans."

Rose lifted her chin. "Or they cage civets and force-feed them."

Scorpius let go of the sash. It slid to the floor. "The Conjured Cup only serves fair trade coffee," he said. "Their kopi luwak isn't sourced from abused animals."

"The demand causes abuse." Her voice trembled. "The animals can't climb, can't hide. They pace their filthy cages until they sicken and die."

"Sounds Muggle." Muggles industrialised everything, including animals. He'd learned about factory farms in Muggle Studies. "What do you expect me to do about it?"

"Ask Mr. Bean not to sell a coffee that subsidises animal cruelty."

"A coffee that sells for five Galleons a cup."

Rose stared. "That's obscene."

"It's business. Supply and demand." Scorpius carried his beaker to the sink and dumped the rest of his hot chocolate. "I'm going to take a bath." Rose didn't respond.

His bathtub was freestanding and modern; long enough for him to float in what some would consider an obscene amount of water. Since Rose wasn't likely to join him, he adjusted the tap to a cooler temperature than she preferred and decided to forgo bubbles. He slid into the water and closed his eyes.

A short time later, he heard the click of the bathroom door opening. Rose came over to perch on the side of the tub. "Are we having a row?" she asked.

He sat up, eyeing the sash loosely tied around her waist. "If I say yes can we make up?"

"I'd rather talk."

"About what? The ethics of civet coffee? I'll speak with Mr. Bean. About my friends—if I stretch the meaning of the word like an extendable ear—I'd rather not. Except for Nathaniel, who surprised me by being a decent human being, I wasted time and Galleons on a group of people who aren't worth the effort."

"Not even Edgar?"

"He's the biggest fool of all." Scorpius slid beneath the water and held his breath, counting.

"140 seconds. Impressive," Rose said when he came up for air.

"I was calming down, not showing off."

"Did it work?"

Scorpius raked his fingers through his hair to get it out of his face. "Dancing with you was the only thing that went right tonight."

"Not true," Rose said. "Nathaniel and I talked about being trainees over dinner. Where do you think he works?"

The lilt in her voice told him the answer. "The Walpurgis Club." Scorpius lunged forward to pull her into the water, into his arms. Her lips were tantalisingly close. He said, "You're wearing my robe. Give it back."

Her eyes sparkled. "Guess what position he's training for?"

"Tell me."

Rose untied the robe and let it slip from her shoulders. "Club historian and record keeper."

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's sad that the drive for profit results in animal cruelty. Scorpius and Rose won't have the same viewpoint on every issue, but disagreements can bring a couple closer, in or out of the bath. ; )
> 
>  


	14. Owl Post

 

Scorpius awoke to the sound of birds. At first, he thought his nature alarm had malfunctioned, but then he realised that the birds weren't singing. They were hooting. He got out of bed carefully to avoid waking Rose and grabbed the tin of owl treats off the dresser. He opened the French doors to the terrace.

A chorus of Whoos and hoo-hoo-hoos greeted him. Owls perched on the barbeque grill, the loungers and the table and chairs. Most were the small brown owls used for city deliveries. Two he recognised by sight: Errol, Rose's parents' elderly grey owl, and his grandfather's snowy owl Maleficus.

He retrieved messages from the smaller owls so they could return to the Owl Post Office. Errol hopped onto the table next to the growing mound of parchment.

"Sorry, old man. Family first," Scorpius said. He held out his arm. Maleficus swooped down from the top of the barbeque, digging talons into his new perch. Scorpius retrieved the message case. Maleficus flapped his wings to jump onto the table and turned his glare on Errol. The grey owl puffed out his feathers. "And Muggles say dogs resemble their owners," Scorpius murmured. He tossed the owls a few treats to end the avian standoff.

Inside his grandfather's message case was a parchment note and a folded piece of newspaper. Scorpius unrolled the parchment.

_I remembered your habit of purchasing the Sunday Daily_ _Prophet from the newsstand in Diagon Alley and thought you'd like to see this sooner rather than later. No need to reply and thank me. I'm sure you have loads of correspondence to get through._

Scorpius gave Maleficus another treat to send him on his way. The newspaper clipping was from the front page of the Lifestyle section, which consisted of a large photo with a small caption:  **Scorpius Malfoy and Rose Weasley party at hotspot Lumos Duo with friends.**

The photograph was worth bumping whatever story the paper had originally intended to publish. Rose looked beautiful; a Persephone led by Hades and his sneering minions into the underworld.

Scorpius placed the owl treat tin in front of Errol. "All these are yours if you pretend no one was home and take the message back to Rose's father."

Errol gave an exclamatory hoot.

"Told you to wait all day, I suppose." Scorpius reluctantly touched the clamps that held the leather case to the owl's leg and then opened the top to reach the message inside. The tiny slip of parchment boded ill. He would have preferred a long-winded rant to vent fatherly wrath. Instead, he got:

_Burrow. Noon._

"Blink once if the invitation's for lunch, twice if it's for a wizard duel," Scorpius told Errol. The owl stared unblinkingly. Scorpius refastened the case to Errol's leg and said, "Two can play the suspense game. No reply." He gathered up the dozen messages and carried them inside.

Rose was sitting up in bed, stretching her arms toward the ceiling. She said, "I dreamt that we snuck up to the owlery at Hogwarts."

"The owls came to us," Scorpius dumped the tubes of parchment onto the middle of the bed and then handed her the news clipping. "We're amazingly photogenic."

She smiled wryly. "And these are notes of congratulations?"

"Well, they can't all say 'keep my sister/cousin/niece, etc. away from your evil Slytherin friends'." Scorpius sat on the bed and unrolled a parchment. "On second thought," he said, passing the note from Teddy Lupin.

Rose pushed sleep-tousled hair out of her face and scanned the words. "He misspelled 'supremacists'."

Lupin's penmanship was rubbish too. Scorpius picked up another note. "You do the honours this time."

"Ugh," she said, reading the message. "Orna calls you  _Scorpy."_

"Not without getting a hex." Scorpius cast a spell to vanish the offending note and unrolled another parchment after tossing one to Rose. "Let's slog through these as quickly as possible. We're expected at the Burrow in an hour."

"We are?"

"Errol brought the invitation." Scorpius skimmed one message, untied the ribbon around another and asked as he read, "Do Dominique and Victoire always revert to French when they're upset?"

" _Oui_." Rose held up a parchment. "At least Aunt Fleur complimented my dress before she advised me to be choosier about my companions. Who wrote the invitation, my mum or my dad?"

"Dad." Scorpius picked up a roll of parchment tied with a stalk of dried blue lavender. "Someone thinks we need calming." He broke the stalk and read the note. "Your Aunt Luna is making lavender bath salts to help us deal with stress." Rose was giving him a narrow-eyed, _you're hiding something_ look. He snatched up another message. "Albus wants to know why he wasn't invited to our Slytherin/Gryffindor party."

Rose said, "I'll tell him Knights of Walpurgis and Auror trainees don't mix. Do you still have Dad's letter?"

"Yes." He read another note. "Roxanne wants us to come over for dinner next week to meet her friends." And make new ones, presumably. Roxanne was as subtle as her father, George. Scorpius used _Explico_ to unroll the remaining the parchments. "The rest are thank-you notes for the party." Marianne conveyed Edgar's appreciation, and Terry Boot expressed how delighted he and Barry were with the mention of their club in the  _Daily Prophet_. Scorpius cast _Evanesco_ to clear the bed.

Rose held out her hand. "I want to read what my dad wrote."

"You won't like it." He took the note out of his pocket and handed it over.

She read the message and then crumpled the parchment into a ball and threw it across the room. "That's not an invitation, that's an order! Who does he think he is? We won't go," she said. "He has to learn to respect my choices."

"I agree."

Her sceptical expression quickly transformed into understanding. "You expected this."

"It's necessary." He reached for her hand and lifted it to his lips. "I'll have you to protect me."

 

They took the motorbike to Devon. Instead of driving through the neighbours' orchard and paddock to the back garden, Scorpius landed in the "empty" field that served as the Weasleys' front lawn. The air shimmered, and then the Burrow appeared in all its lopsided glory. He parked off to the side.

"No grand entrance?" Rose asked.

"We may need a fast getaway."

Rose climbed off the bike. "I'll protect you, remember?" She took his hand as they strolled through the long grass at the side of the house.

Scorpius said, "I'd prefer a few more human shields. Too bad the L's are at Hogwarts." Lily Potter, Lucy Weasley, and Lysander Scamander were the friendliest members of the Weasley clan. Not that Albus Potter was unfriendly, but it was more of a truce. One Albus might consider broken.

"Oh, Merlin," Rose breathed. She squeezed Scorpius's hand.

He saw the empty garden and cursed. No picnic tables laden with food, no family members milling about—no attempt to pretend he wasn't there to be interrogated.

The back door of the Burrow opened and Ron Weasley stepped out. He looked at Scorpius and said, "What's she doing here?"

 


	15. Man Talk

 

"You didn't write,  _Come alone,"_ Scorpius said. "Although if you had, I wouldn't be here, so it's a moot point."

"We need to talk," Ron said. "Man to man."

"What does that mean? Mum's not here?" Rose asked. "Does she know about this?"

Ron's expression became shifty. "I'll tell her later."

Rose squeezed Scorpius's hand and then let go. "I'm telling her now." She spun on her heel and marched toward the paddock.

"Rosie, wait.  _Petrificus Totalus!"_  Ron cried.

"Shield charm," Rose called back. Once out of the range of Anti-Apparation wards, she Disapparated.

"Bollocks." Ron glared as if his lack of foresight and marital openness was Scorpius's fault.

"If you have something to say, do it before they return," Scorpius said. He walked toward the Burrow.

Ron held the door open. "What made you agreeable all of a sudden?"

Scorpius entered the kitchen that smelled of lemon oil and a trace of vanilla and took off his leather jacket, draping it over the back of a chair. "One might as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb."

"Muggle Studies, English law," Arthur Weasley said. He stood by the kitchen table, a tin of ginger biscuits in hand. He dumped biscuits onto a plate. "He's referring to you, Ron, but it fits both of us, since I sent Molly to the shops. Tea, Scorpius?"

"Later, Dad," Ron said. "We don't have much time."

Arthur stashed a biscuit in a cardigan pocket. "Molly's got me on a reducing diet," he told Scorpius, before saying to Ron, "Very well. He's in the lounge."

"He" was Harry Potter, dressed in Auror robes, pacing in front of the fireplace. Potter said. "Are you aware that you've put Rose's life in jeopardy?"

The venom in his tone raised Scorpius's eyebrows. Potter knew that Rose could protect herself. Scorpius glanced around the room. Something besides Potter's attitude was off. "Where's the family clock?"

"It needed a tune up. Sit down and answer the question," Ron said. He and Arthur shared the sofa. Scorpius and Potter took the chairs. Potter's robes covered his shoes.

"There's no danger," Scorpius said.  _Not yet, anyway._ "My friends accept Rose."

"Potter scoffed. "Wizard supremacists accepting a Mudblood's daughter? You're either lying or deluded. Tell the truth, Malfoy."

Malfoy, not Scorpius. Clues fell into place. Scorpius allowed himself a faint, taunting smile. "Spell supremacists, Lupin."

"Wh-what?" Ron said.

Arthur sighed and took out his wand. The missing clock reappeared in its corner. "How did you know?"

Scorpius said, "Supremacists is Lupin's word of the day, one he misspells in letters." He turned to Ron. "Did you lend him your old Auror robes? He should have brought his own. These days the Ministry uses sizing charms." He smirked at Lupin, who had morphed his features to what passed as normal. "Your overacting was the final giveaway."

Lupin scowled. "It isn't too late to shove Veritaserum down your throat."

Scorpius said, "Impersonating the Head Auror, threats of force. What will the disciplinary review board say?"

"You won't file a complaint." Lupin's confident words didn't match the unease in his eyes.

Arthur fished the ginger biscuit out of his pocket and took a bite. "I told them their plan wouldn't work."

"But you still let us try," Ron said.

"Some lessons have to be learned the hard way," Arthur replied. He finished the biscuit and said, "I need a cup of tea to wash that down."

Scorpius said, "I'd like one as well, if I may." He'd had enough man talk.

Lupin shot to his feet. "If Uncle Harry wasn't visiting James in Yorkshire, he'd be here demanding—"

"Asking," Scorpius said. "Good Auror, not bad. Try it sometime." He went into the kitchen. Arthur was pouring a kettle of boiling water into a floral teapot.

"You think us overprotective and untrusting, I suppose," Arthur said, "but it isn't you we're worried about." He glanced toward the lounge and added, "Those of us who acknowledge the lengths you've gone to protect Rose. Biscuit?"

"Thank you." The ginger biscuit was hard and dry. Scorpius coughed when he tried to swallow.

"Low fat treats are rather dreadful, aren't they?" Arthur said. He handed Scorpius a cup of tea and poured one for himself. "I tell myself they're better than nothing. Another cup?" he asked after Scorpius downed his tea.

"Yes, please." He preferred darker oolong with ginger biscuits, but the astringent Earl Grey cleansed his palate.

Arthur said as he poured, "Ron, Teddy, you may come in now." He gave Scorpius a look of apology.

_I told them their plan wouldn't work._

"You put something in the cup," Scorpius said. The pang he felt wasn't hurt feelings. His ego was merely bruised from being temporarily outwitted.

"Verisimilitude Potion," Arthur said. "The bergamot in Earl Grey disguises the taste."

Lupin strode into the kitchen. "This is why I didn't bother to play the Good Auror, Malfoy. I had Granddad Weasley."

Ron hovered in the doorway with a frown on his face. "You were supposed to use the Veritaserum Teddy gave you, Dad. We need more than one truthful answer."

Arthur said, "My plan, my choice, Ronald."

The double chime of the family clock broke the taut silence.

Lupin said, "Hurry, Uncle Ron. They'll Apparate to the doorstep once they reach the garden."

"Tell Rose to come find me," Scorpius said. He Disapparated.

 

He was halfway through  _Legends of the Green Knight, vol. 19: Snare of the Enchantress_ when Rose climbed into the treehouse. He thought about sitting up, but he didn't want to be seen from the windows, so he continued to lie on the comfort-charmed floor. "Are they still searching?" Anti-Apparition charms prevented unwanted intruders. It didn't prevent Apparation within the house.

Rose sat next to him. "No. The ghoul in the attic pointed to the window, so they figured you conjured a ladder."

"I levitated." He turned the book around and pointed to a comic strip panel where the Green Knight and Enchantress's alter egos banter about what their evening holds. "I never realised how much innuendo Creevey puts in his comics."

Rose read aloud, "First, dinner…and then…we'll discuss that  _comforting_ you mentioned earlier."

Scorpius waited for her to ask if he was feeling in similar need of comfort. He wouldn't mind being compelled by Verisimilitude Potion to answer that question.

Instead, she asked, "Why did you hide in the treehouse?"

He knew she would look for him there. He didn't want to jump on his motorbike and leave her behind. It was a place he knew well enough to attempt mid-air Apparition, a place with good memories. All the reasons were true, but not the real answer. Scorpius held out against the magic of the potion for as long as he could and then admitted, "I'll miss coming here when your family decides they don't want me around anymore."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Green Knight innuendo dialogue was taken from an old Batman comic, The Lazarus Affair, which had Bruce Wayne acting like James Bond, which I found amusing.
> 
> If anyone's interested in a George and Angelina story that shows they weren't a match made in therapy; they were a match made at a Yule Ball, in a tent in Devon, on a battlefield, and at a funeral, I'd love you to read my one shot Friends and Lovers. :)


	16. Revealing Questions

 

Rose pounced. One moment she was curled next to Scorpius, and the next she was pinning him down, kissing him in a way that made him wish there were curtains on the treehouse windows and a lock on the trapdoor. "I want you around," she said huskily, "and I always get what I want."

The Enchantress had come out to play. "Always?" Scorpius drawled. "You must be very persuasive."

She nipped at his bottom lip and then soothed it with her tongue. "Shall I demonstrate?" Her fingernails raked lightly across his chest.

He hid a grin. "You may find me hard to convince."

Her smile was promisingly wicked. "Oh, I think you'll be easy _."_  Her hand slid down his torso.

The treehouse shook like an earthquake had hit. Windows rattled. The trapdoor banged open. Scorpius held onto Rose as the floor tilted and they slid toward the opening in the floor. Nothing else moved in the treehouse. The trunk filled with comics stayed in place. On a hunch, Scorpius yelled, "We'll behave!"

The floor instantly levelled. The shaking stopped.

"That was . . . interesting," Scorpius said. "Are you all right?"

"I will be when I get out of here."

Scorpius climbed down after her. "I haven't experienced this spell before, in case you were wondering. It was Guy. Some family reunion at the grandparents' house, he and a third cousin snuck upstairs and—"

"The earth moved literally?" Rose stood, arms crossed, glaring toward the Burrow. "I can't believe my dad did that to us."

"I don't think he did." When Rose turned her scowl his way, Scorpius said, "It's an old spell, from the days when a parent's biggest dread was illegitimate grandchildren. Your grandparents probably cast it years ago to deter one of your uncles."

"Bill," Rose said. "Granny Weasley and Aunt Fleur didn't get along at first."

Scorpius feigned surprise. "They get along now?"

She smiled a little, and then something behind him caught her eye, and her expression changed to a blend of emotions he translated as  _oh, hullo_ and  _oh, shite._

"Rosie! Scorpius!" a bubbly voice shouted. "We're here to save the day!"

Merry Graves and Albus Potter walked from the paddock toward the back garden. Merry's black and yellow striped dress gave her the appearance of a giant bumblebee drawn to her boyfriend's spiky Chrysanthemum hairstyle. Albus carried the kind of red, insulated carry bag used by takeaway delivery persons.

Rose sighed. "I sent my Patronus to Al. I didn't know he'd bring his girlfriend."

The more non-family potential witnesses the better, in Scorpius's opinion. When the other couple reached them, he asked, "Saving the day with pizza?"

"Chicken Tikka Masala," Merry said, "and mango ice cream for afters. Spicy and sweet. Who could resist?"

Scorpius slanted a look at Rose.  _Not me._ As the others exchanged hugs, he took a step back, just in case.

Merry gave him a knowing look and said, "You hid in the treehouse. That was clever."

Albus asked, "How did you get past Uncle Ron?"

"I left through the attic window."

" _Very_  clever!" Merry said.

"Very Slytherin," Albus muttered.

Scorpius didn't take offense at Albus's tone. Whether deliberately or not, Merry's gushing had pushed her boyfriend's jealousy buttons. The last thing Scorpius wanted was to add new domestic drama to whatever might be unfolding inside the Burrow. He asked Rose, "Do you think it's safe to go in?"

"There's no shouting," Rose said. "That's usually a good sign." She reached out to squeeze his hand. "I'll protect you."

Hermione Weasley opened the back door and marched out to greet them. She wore capris leggings and a yoga vest; apparently, Rose had interrupted her workout. Hermione said, "I've been assured that no information was coerced before we got here, and no attempts to coerce will be made in the future."

Rose lifted her chin. "Scorpius deserves an apology."

"I don't need one," Scorpius said. It was enough to know her family wouldn't drug his food or drink again.

Hermione turned on her heel. "They'll apologise regardless."

 

In the kitchen, the three conspirators sat at the table looking glum. Lupin perked up when he saw Albus and Merry. "Takeaway. My favourite. Am I invited for lunch?"

"There's something you have to do first," Rose said.

Lupin's eyes flickered from Hermione to Scorpius. Grudgingly, he said, "Sorry about the underhanded tactics, Malfoy."

"Yeah," Ron said. "We should've known better."

Arthur seemed the most penitent. "Next time we have questions, we'll simply ask," he said. After a pause, he asked, "I suppose it's too much to hope that there won't be a next time?"

"Scorpius doesn't have to answer that," Hermione said.

He didn't have to, but he wanted to be as honest as possible. "Yes, sir," Scorpius told Arthur, and everyone else listening. "It probably is."

Merry broke the uncomfortable silence. "Al, unpack the food. Everyone's hungry."

Albus took container after container out of the insulated bag. The sharp sweetness of ginger and the earthy scent of cumin and other curry spices filled the room. Lupin and Rose's father set the table while Arthur opened a couple of bottles of ruby-hued Shiraz wine and cast an aeration spell.

"The table needs flowers," Merry said. She conjured a bouquet of dainty yellow and white freesias. When Rose went to fill a vase with water, she told Scorpius, "I know what you're thinking, and you're wrong. I chose these colours because they have the least scent, not because they're Hufflepuff. Someone might have allergies."

"Then you should have chosen flowers with less pollen like roses or zinnias," Albus said.

"It's not just about pollen," Merry snapped.

"My grandmother has fragrance allergies," Scorpius said, "I'll have to ask her if she's sensitive to pollen as well. I've always assumed they go hand in hand." His attempt to prevent a couple's row backfired. Albus gave him a look that said he didn't care about Scorpius's grandmother, while Merry beamed liked he'd taken her side in whatever argument was going on beneath the squabble about flowers.

"You'll have to sit by me," she said. "I appreciate a man who can hold a  _pleasant_  conversation."

Rose returned with a vase. She lifted an eyebrow at Scorpius when Merry shoved the flowers into the water. He shrugged.

The back door opened.

Molly Weasley, carrying an amount of shopping bags that would impress his grandmother, walked into the kitchen and stared at the roomful of guests. "What's going on?" she asked.

No one spoke, and then Ron said, "Surprise?"

Molly's eyes flickered around the room, and then she nodded and placed her bags on a worktop. "Tell me all about it later," she told Arthur.

He pulled out her chair. "Yes, dear."

Surprisingly, for a luncheon begun in less than friendly circumstances, the atmosphere at the table wasn't nearly as uncomfortable as Scorpius had expected. Molly asked how Albus and Rose were getting on at the Ministry, and Lupin entertained the family by doing impressions of some of the trainers, complete with morphing.

Albus and Merry spent most of their time pretending to ignore each other while covertly shooting each other looks. The couple angst would have been amusing if Merry hadn't decided to ask about Lumos Duo: the lighting, fairies, music, and food. It seemed that she had read every publicity article about the club and was keen to go. Scorpius tried to respond with polite brevity. She didn't take the hint. Her questions continued. One by one, other conversations ebbed. Lupin smirked. Merry was doing his interrogating for him.

Scorpius was about to excuse himself and go hide in a loo until lunch was over when Merry asked a question that chilled his bones. He said, "Would you repeat that?"

Merry giggled uncertainly. "I asked if you touched the Wiggentree when you entered. It's supposed to give protection from Dark magic."

Scorpius turned to Rose.

She said, "There was a small rowan tree in a silver pot. That's all I noticed. What's wrong?"

"The fairies," he said. "They were afraid of us. Why?"

"Guy Willoughby threatened to pin them to the dartboard," Rose answered.

Scorpius shook his head. She didn't see it. How could she? He was the one who remembered every bit of information he'd ever read about fairies. He was the one who played with them in the garden when he was a child with no other friends but his Niffler.

Across the table, Hermione asked, "Fairies are being threatened at Lumos Duo?"

"Worse than that." Scorpius clenched his jaw to control his emotions.

Lupin said, "We need details, Malfoy."

"You won't be able to do anything."

"Let us be the judge of that," Hermione said. "It's against the law to abuse magical creatures."

"If you find proof," Scorpius said, "Which you won't. Their scheme is fiendishly clever."

"What scheme?" Ron asked.

"Spit it out, Malfoy," Lupin said.

Scorpius took a deep breath and released the kind of frustration he hadn't experienced since he was a first-year complaining about his dorm-mates' inability to memorise a thousand magical herbs and fungi.  _Just because learning comes easily to you doesn't mean your friends are stupid, Father had said, while Grandfather Lucius mouthed, yes, it does._

"What does anyone remember about the Wiggentree?" Scorpius asked.

Merry said, "Protects against Dark magic."

"The wood is used to make wands," Hermione added.

Rose gasped. "Bowtruckles."

"Yes," Arthur Weasely said. "Bowtruckles guard Wiggentrees. Stick-like little fellows. Twiggy fingers."

"Nasty creatures," Ron Weasley said with a grimace. "If you want to take anything from their tree you have to give them wood lice."

"Or give them something else they find tasty," Scorpius said.

Rose gave a shuddery exhale. "Fairy eggs."

 


	17. Family Fun

 

"You think they're feeding fairy eggs to a Bowtruckle," Lupin said in a tone that implied the charge was ridiculous. "That would be stupid, not clever. Fairies have a higher value than wood."

"Especially at Lumos Duo," Scorpius replied. "From opening to close, they're the star attraction."

"That doesn't sound right," Ron said. "Fairies might agree to decorate a party or a Christmas tree for an hour or two, but then they flitter away. They aren't goblins. They can't hold down  _jobs_."

Hermione said, "Perhaps they can when threatened with a Bowtruckle."

"Those poor fairies!" Merry buried her face against Albus's shoulder. He seemed glad to have an excuse to put his arms around her.

Lupin's expression remained sceptical. "Magical Law Enforcement can't press charges on theories."

"I'm not asking them to," Scorpius replied coolly. Rose put a hand on his arm.

"Why don't we talk to Terry?" she asked. "Maybe he doesn't know that the fairies are being coerced. He created a lovely garden for them."

_Lovely? Without chimes or a fountain?_ "Barely adequate, I'd say. He lied about consulting with the Department of Magical Creatures. What makes you think he wouldn't lie again?"

"This is different," Rose said. "It's cruelty. Terry is a decent person."

She sounded so certain. Scorpius lifted a brow. "You can say that after what he did to you at Hogsmeade?"

"After what he _did?"_ Ron said in a dangerous tone. "Rosie, what did that boy do?"

Rose asked Scorpius, "You never asked a girl to go to Hogsmeade to make someone else jealous? Not even once?"

"No. To make someone jealous, you have to presume they care." Awkwardly conscious of those listening, he admitted, "I may have tried to make . . . a certain girl . . . take notice, once or twice."

Rose narrowed her eyes. "Is that supposed to make me jealous?"

Scorpius couldn't help smiling a little. "Of yourself?"

Rose's lips curved, even as she said, "You just made my case. Going with one girl when he liked someone else doesn't make Terry a horrible person."

"She's right," Ron said gruffly. He cleared his throat. "Any bloke could make that mistake out of, erm, immaturity. Not fair to hold it against m—Terry forever." He glanced at his wife. "Isn't that right, love?"

"Mmm." The trace of amusement in Hermione's eyes vanished as she said, "But the charge of abuse must be investigated."

"I have a few mates in MLE," Lupin said. "I'll drop by their office tomorrow."

" _No_ ," Scorpius said. He blinked in surprise when Rose, her parents, and Albus chorused his instinctive response.

"The no's have it," Arthur said with a chuckle.

"Did I miss something?" Lupin asked. He raked a hand through the hair he'd kept spiky and black. "My mates are professionals. They'd be discreet, not charge in and bollocks things up."

"I'm sure," Albus said, although his overly polite tone gave Scorpius the idea that Albus knew the mates Lupin spoke of and didn't have the same confidence in their abilities.

"Don't take it personally, Teddy dear," Molly said. "Some people in this family can't resist the adrenaline rush of danger. It's addictive, you know." She frowned at her son.

"Aw, Mum, there's no danger," Ron said.

Molly pushed back her chair and went over to pick up one of her shopping bags. "I bought a sponge cake and custard powder. I'll whip up a quick sherry trifle whilst the rest of you go into the lounge and sort out your plans."

Arthur said, "I'll make tea."

Merry asked in a carrying whisper, "Al, sweetie, what plans are we sorting?"

"Yeah,  _sweetie,_ " Lupin said. "Tell us."

"I don't know anything about any plans," Albus said.

Molly set the tin of custard powder on the countertop with a forceful thud.

Hermione said, "Let's adjourn to the lounge, shall we?" She smiled her thanks when Ron jumped to his feet and pulled out her chair.

Scorpius hung back when the others moved forward. "I don't need their help," he whispered to Rose. He could get his security team to plant surveillance orbs.

"But you'll take it, won't you?" Rose asked softly. "For me?"

So they'd think he was a decent person a little longer? To put off the moment when he wasn't welcome at the Burrow anymore?

Arthur cleared his throat. "Do it for Ron and Hermione as well," he said. "It's hard to grow older and stand on the sidelines while others wade into the thick of adventure." His eyes twinkled when they looked his way in surprise. "Was I not supposed to overhear? I must ask the Healer to adjust my hearing aide spell."

"You'll ask no such thing," Molly said as she poured milk into a saucepan. "I prefer not to shout all the time."

"Just some of the time," Arthur murmured.

"This may become one of those moments," Molly shot back. She glanced over a shoulder at Rose and Scorpius. "Run along, dears. The custard's almost done."

Scorpius followed Rose into the lounge. Ron, Hermione, and Lupin sat on the sofa while Albus and Merry sat in two of the flanking chairs. Lupin had a disgruntled look on his face, while Albus and Merry smiled.

Merry said, "Teddy thought Scorpius might bolt."

"'Slither out the back door' were my exact words," Lupin said. Ironic, how non-Slytherins used "slither" to belittle those who viewed it as a compliment.

Scorpius hesitated when Rose took the chair nearest the kitchen, leaving him to sit within arm's distance of her father. Ron's legs were outstretched in front of the empty chair. Scorpius stepped around them to take a seat. His lips twitched as he imagined Grandfather Lucius sneering over the uncouth display of hairy kneecaps.

"You're smiling. Have you thought of a plan?" Merry asked Scorpius a bit presumptuously, in his opinion. He could come up with a plan if he had to, but since Rose's parents were the ones keen on group involvement he'd throw them the Quaffle, so to speak.

"Mr. and Mrs. Weasley are the ones with experience. We should listen to their ideas."

Rose's parents exchanged glances, and then Hermione said, "You and Rose know the layout of the club. We'll follow your lead."

They didn't have any ideas either. Brilliant. Scorpius slanted a remember-you-asked-for-this glance Rose's way. "We'll have to act tonight," he said.  _Before Harry and Ginny Potter return and ask to join in on the family fun. I already have more help than I require._ The number of people involved limited his options.

"What's the big plan?" Lupin asked.

An idea sparked. Scorpius drawled, "Happy birthday to me."

 

The group assembled in the rear alley of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes at ten o'clock. Scorpius raised an eyebrow over some of the choices in attire. Bright colours and patterns weren't his idea of blending in. Victoire Weasley, although self-invited, was at least less conspicuous in her white shirt and gold metallic skinny jeans than Lupin was in his orange dragon hide suit.

George Weasley opened the back door. "Hullo, party people. Does everyone solemnly swear you are up to no good?"

"No good for the Boot brothers," Scorpius replied.

"That'll do." George held open the door and waved them inside with a sweep of his arm. "Potions are in the testing lab. Appropriate, I thought, since they've shelved with the unsold inventory for three years. Merlin knows what will happen," he said gleefully.

Hermione swept past him. "They'll work exactly as they ought."

"Aw, that's no fun." George waggled his brows. "Short skirt, very nice."

Ron shouldered his brother out of the way. "Stare at your own wife's legs."

"I do, every Friday at couples' counselling," George said. He winked at Rose, the next in line. "I'm thinking about asking Angelina to go twice a week."

Rose gave him a hug. "Don't give up. She loves you."

"Then like you, she has odd tastes." George told Scorpius, "That's a compliment of sorts."

Scorpius gave a non-committal, "Hmm," and followed Rose inside. Down the corridor and through the storeroom was the testing lab. During Easter holiday, seventh year, he and Rose had spent unforgettable moments together in the lab. He'd been petrified by one of Grandfather's spells, and Rose had perched on a stool to look him in the eyes and tell him stories until the spell broke. The stains on the white walls still looked like dung bomb residue—not that he felt like sniffing to find out.

He slid an arm around Rose's waist. "Rose Red," he said softly.

"I'm wearing champagne pink." Her eyes sparkled with memories, even as Rose teased, "And you're wearing shades of beige instead of silver."

"We're incognito." They'd gone shopping after leaving the Burrow. The pleasure of watching Rose try on dresses offset the frustration of searching for a shirt and trousers that were nondescript yet decently tailored. Malfoys had standards, after all.

Once they were all inside the lab, George Weasley opened a box on the centre table. "One vial per customer."

Albus stepped forward. "What is it?"

George handed Albus a small, clear vial filled with a bright green liquid. "A prank potion used to even the odds between mates on a pub crawl. Slip it into a drink, and for four hours the unfairly attractive appear ordinary."

Albus unstopped the vial. "Why didn't it sell?"

George's brow creased. "I underestimated the vanity of the general public. Few people admit they're less fanciable than their mates." He looked at Scorpius. "You asked for the Plain Jane potion. How did you know about it? Someone spike your drink?"

"No."

Rose said, "I would've used it to walk down Diagon Alley and have no one notice, to have no one stare or take a photograph."

She understood. He said, "I attended Creevey Comic Con."

Rose's eyes lit up. "Did you wear a costume?"

Scorpius smirked.

"You did." Rose's tone became husky. "Do you still have it?"

Ron said, "OK, time's wasting. Drink up, everyone."

"Cheers," George said, reaching for a vial. "What?" he asked in response to curious stares. "This is a caper, not date night. You need me to keep the rest of you focused on the mischief at hand." He drank the potion and smacked his lips. "Sour apple, the tang of jealousy."

"Tastes more like rotten apple," Albus said.

Victoire and Merry giggled.

"Time could have altered the flavour," Hermione said.

Ron grimaced. "Nah, it always tasted like crap." He asked George, "Remember that comment card we got that listed all the alternatives to sugar if we preferred a natural sweetener to make the potion more palatable?" Ron snorted. "Who uses words like palatable, anyway?"

Scorpius downed the unpalatable liquid and coughed.

Hermione said, "You should have taken the advice."

"Never too late," George said. He glanced at his watch. "Another minute and the potion should take effect."

Scorpius watched the burnished waves of Rose's hair turn lank and mouse brown, her features shift and porcelain skin freckle. "It's already working." He asked Rose, "Do I have brown hair too?"

Her smile revealed an overbite. "Dirty blond. You look like a Scamander."

The Scamanders were ordinary-looking? He'd never thought so, but everyone else in the room had transformed into wizards and witches of average attractiveness. Either love was blind or Rose was being generous.

Lupin, who had morphed his face into the epitome of plain, said, "If the potion took effect quicker than expected, it might end sooner. We should go."

George opened the door with a flourish. "As the Muggles say, the game's afoot!"

 

Their "game" hit a snag when they reached the club. They had to join the long queue to get in. On another night, the quips and complaints of the people around him would have amused Scorpius. He watched a well-known singer and her entourage approaching the club to be ushered inside.

"That was us last night," Rose whispered.

Behind them, Albus said, "We need to find a way to bypass the queue."

Scorpius agreed, although he didn't see how, until Barry Boot exited the club to speak with the doorman. After casting a Sonorous Charm, Scorpius sang out, " _As long as we beat the Kestrels, we don't care!"_

Barry grinned. No love was lost between the player and his former team.

Scorpius shouted the chant he'd heard once at a Kestrels/Cannons match. "Give 'em the Boot! Give 'em the Boot! Give 'em the Boot!"

Merlin only knew what Rose and the others thought of his antics. Barry laughed and waved him over. Scorpius hurried to comply.

Barry greeted him with, "So you're a fan, are you?"

"Not of the Kestrels," Scorpius replied. "Not since they lost the best Beater they ever had."

"Damn right." Barry's smile turned quizzical. "Something about you is familiar. What's your name?"

Scorpius held out his hand. "Loki Scamander."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I borrowed the Welsh rugby tune As Long as We Beat the English by the Stereophonics (look it up on YouTube, the tune's catchy) for Scorpius's impromptu song.
> 
> At the end of ch 10 of Our Little Secret, Roxanne told Rose that her parents were splitting up. I put in the author's note that "I've always thought that the match was mentally unhealthy," but after watching someone close go through a divorce, I’ve decided to put George and Angelina back in couples' counseling, and readers can decide whether they make it or not.


	18. Covert Affairs

 

"My grandfather wrote  _Fantastic Creatures_ ," Scorpius said. "I'm in the family business, here for a magizoologist conference." He pointed to the group. "I told her—my colleagues—that Lumos Duo was  _the_ place to see in London."

Barry Boot sniggered. "Trying to impress a bird, eh?"

Scorpius pretended to be embarrassed by the deliberate slip. "Gwyn." One of the many aliases used by the Green Knight's antagonist and love interest The Enchantress.

"And the feeling's not mutual?" Boot's calculating gaze seemed to add up the cost of Scorpius's clothes, watch, and Italian leather shoes. "You could change that with a bit of help."

What kind of help: pickup lines and fashion tips? Illegal potions were more likely. "I could?" Scorpius tried to sound hopeful. Stay in character. Fans didn't hex their idols.

"If you've got the Galleons and the ballocks."

Along with a complete lack of scruples. How many others had Boot approached with this offer? Scorpius nodded fervently. "Anything."

Boot whacked him on the shoulder with a beefy palm. "Just what I needed to hear. Tell your mates they're now VIPs."

Scorpius hustled back to the group.

"You got us in, didn't you?" George said. "Tommy and Reggie owe me drinks."

"Shut it, Greg," Ron said.

Scorpius told them, "I'm buying. Loki Scamander is a generous host."

"Loki?" Rose's eyes sparkled enchantingly. "I thought we were going to be Scott and Rene."

"Plans change, Gwyn." He walked beside her toward the club and said in an undertone, "I'm paying Boot to make you fancy me." She pressed her lips together, and he restrained himself to a faint smirk.

The people in the queue muttered as he and the others walked toward the VIP door. "Must have a vault of Galleons," a girl said. Cynical, yet true. Scorpius glanced around for paparazzi, but if any lurked about they declined to take photos. Anonymity had its benefits.

"Welcome to Lumos Duo," Boot said. "Bar's to the left. First round's on the house."

"No, no, I should buy you a drink," Scorpius replied.

"Yeah, our boy Loki is Mr. Moneybags," Lupin piped up. "He likes to pay."

"Maybe he can buy you some couth then, Tommy," Rose shot back. She gave Scorpius a commiserating look.

Playing his role of timid admirer, Scorpius joked nervously, "Perhaps the club has a gift shop." He and Rose traded smiles.

"Gift shop? I like that idea." Boot clapped him on the shoulder. "Let's have that drink."

In the centre of the entryway, the rowan tree in its silver pot stood illuminated by beams of moonlight shining down from the enchanted ceiling. No plaque declared the tree more than a bit of greenery to a casual observer, much less a wizard preoccupied—as he had been on his first visit—with rescuing his lover from the spell-tanned clutches of her former admirer. As if thinking about Terry Boot conjured his appearance, Terry sauntered over from the bar area. He welcomed them and then informed his brother that a fan had requested an autograph.

"Later," Boot said.

"Your fan also insisted on donating to your favourite charity." Terry held out a silk pouch.

Boot took it and seemed impressed by the bag's weight. He slipped it into a pocket with the air of a man who believed that charity began at home, telling Scorpius. "Order me a Blishen's Firewhiskey."

When Terry made to follow his brother, Scorpius asked, "Is this a Wiggentree?"

"I heard it was," Merry said breathily. "I heard it protects you from Dark magic."

"Security wards keep our patrons safe," Terry answered, "but touch the tree if you like, and enjoy your evening."

Victoire and Lupin, along with Albus and Merry, began to examine the tree.

"You won't find the Bowtruckle," Scorpius said. "His camouflage is too good. Listen up. Reggie, Helen, Albert and Mandy can handle the enquiry into the abuse of magical creatures. The rest of us will investigate potions trafficking charges." He stepped away from the others, toward the bar, hoping to forestall questions better answered out of Rose's father's hearing.

"What kind of potions?" Lupin asked.

"Illegal ones," Scorpius answered, ready to cast a stinging hex if  _Tommy_ didn't take the hint. He did. Scorpius vented his annoyance on the people crowded around the barman Boot had spoken to the night before.

"Aversion Charms, very subtle," Rose said as she slid onto an abandoned barstool.

The barman said, "No wands allowed in the club."

"No wands used," Scorpius replied. He withdrew a Gringotts pay to bearer draft from his inside suit pocket. "Two shots of Blishen's Firewhiskey and a round for my friends."

"Many, many rounds," the barman said with a gap-toothed smile as he took the bearer draft. "My name's Niall, and it's a pleasure to serve you." The Irish lilt in his accent deepened as asked, "Ladies, what can I do you for?"

While his "colleagues" ordered drinks, Scorpius took in his surroundings. Aside from the singer and her entourage dining in the private room upstairs, the rest of the patrons appeared to be average witches and wizards having a night out. Music spilling from neon lit Orpheus Orbs at the back of the club had the same throbbing beat he remembered, but the fairies perched above the dancers didn't swoop or flutter their wings. They could have been Muggle fairy lights.

"Why the frown?" Rose asked. "Disappointed not to see more celebrities?" Her light words didn't match the warning in her eyes.  _Don't blow our cover._

He said, "I was listening to the song."

"Goblin Revolt. I love them too!" Merry cried. She nudged Victoire out of the way and grabbed Scorpius's arm. "Let's dance."

"Ah-all right." The moment they reached the edge of the dance floor, Scorpius pulled out of Merry's grasp. "Albus will see you here." Disdain made it easier to move with a stiffness that fit his role.

Merry bounced closer. "Don't be cross."

"Should I be flattered?"

She had the decency to look apologetic. "I'm just trying to make Albus see what losing me would be like while he still has me."

Rather Slytherin of her, in a Hufflepuff way. "And then?" he asked after her expectant stare turned indignant, as though his lack of response displayed his lack of interest in her personal drama. He supposed it did.

"Then what?" Merry asked.

She currently resembled a moth, but her brain remained butterfly flighty. "What do you hope to accomplish?"

Tears welled in her eyes. "I don't know!"

If she expected relationship advice, she was dancing with the wrong man. Thankfully, the song ended.

Albus met them halfway to the bar. "We need to talk."

Merry sniffled.

Scorpius said, "Multitask. Get one of the servers to let you have a chat in the fairy garden." He walked on before Merry could enquire how to persuade a server or—worse—ask him to accompany them in the role of mediator.

Barry Boot now held court in the centre of the group. He was offering to let Rose hold his favourite bat. "If you're up to it," Boot said with a leer. "It's still the longest in the league." He caught sight of Scorpius and said, "Thanks for the drinks, mate." Two empty tumblers stood on the bar.

"I'll pour you another Firewhiskey, Mr. Scamander," Niall said.

"Don't bother. I think I'll try whatever Gwyn's having." A pale, strawberry coloured drink.

She said, "It's called a Burning Sun."

He stepped between her and Boot, pretending to take a closer look at her drink. "What's in it?"

"Strawberry liqueur and pineapple juice."

"May I?" Scorpius asked.

Rose's smile made her overbite cute. "You paid for it." She handed him the glass.

He took a sip.

"Do you like it?" she asked.

Her lips were fuller. The potion was beginning to fade. He nodded absently.

"Good. You can finish it." She told Niall, "I'll take a glass of Elf-made wine."

"Later, Gywnnie," Victoire said. "You have to dance first." She turned to Lupin. "Doesn't she, Tommy?"

"Absolutely, Vicky, my love."

"What am I, the odd man out?" George asked. He reached for Rose's hand. "C'mon,  _Gywnnie,_ let's dance."

Rose glanced at Scorpius before following the others.

"I want to have a closer look at the fairies," Hermoine said. She led Ron away.

The cloying sweetness of the misnamed Burning Sun finally registered. Scorpius put the glass down.

"Knew you weren't the fruity type," Boot said. He chuckled. "Nice move, tasting her drink."

Scorpius made his shoulders slump. "She didn't want it." He allowed himself to stare longingly at Rose as she laughed at George's mimicry of the more energetic dancers around them. She turned her head and their eyes met.

Boot elbowed Scorpius in the ribs. "Your little bird is warming up to you."

"It isn't enough." It had never been enough. "The conference ends tomorrow." Reality and make-believe melded together. He clenched his jaw. "I can't lose her." He tore his gaze away from Rose to find Boot grinning like an ogre. Scorpius demanded, "How can you help me?"

"There's a potion," Boot said. "Works like a Cheering Charm but enhances  _agreeability,_ if you take my meaning."

"Is it legal?"

Boot puffed out his chest. "My source works for the Auror Office. They use it all the time to loosen people's inhibitions about snitching."

Scorpius nodded as if relieved while questions rose in his mind. Harry Potter said that rumour claimed the Knights of Walpurgis were behind the Stop Snitching flyers posted in Knockturn Alley. Where did those rumours come from? Informants, or a slip of the tongue gained from slipping a potion into a witch or wizard's drink? Did the Head of Aurors know? Did Lupin or Albus?

"Name your price," Scorpius said.

Boot named the amount and Scorpius handed over the Gringotts drafts. Boot said over his shoulder, "A special drink for a special lady."

"Aye, boss." Niall bent to retrieve a gold-rimmed wineglass from under the counter. The glass had a clear liquid in the bottom. Once Niall poured blood-red wine, the potion vanished.

"I'll have a glass of Elf-made wine as well," Scorpius said.

"Smart," Boot said, "Looks thoughtful instead of suspicious. Were you—"

"Twenty Galleons his House wasn't Ravenclaw," Niall cut in.

Boot said, "Everything's a wager with this daft bastard."

"Have to supplement me wages somehow," Niall replied as he poured wine into a plain glass. "I got five kids."

Boot guffawed. "Last time it was three!"

Rose was leaving the dance floor. George, Victoire, and Lupin trailed behind her, flushed and smiling. At the other end of the bar, near the staff entrance and the staircase to the private room, Merry, Albus, Hermione and Ron stood in a huddle. They didn't seem to be having a pleasant chat. Hermione said something and Albus shook his head. It didn't take Second Sight to predict that they'd discovered no proof of abuse. Scorpius picked up the gold-rimmed goblet. Giving Rose the potion wouldn't prove illegal trafficking, and loosening her inhibitions wouldn't lead to anything except possible embarrassment for her and her entire family. Scorpius raised the goblet. Loosening  _his_ inhibitions, however, might be just what he needed. He drank the wine like water.

Boot cursed. "That wasn't for you, loony!"

"Loonies are on the Lovegood side of the family," Scorpius said. He felt amazing, relaxed in a way he usually only experienced when he and Rose were cuddled skin to skin.

She was close enough now for him to see the worry on her face. He handed her the plain wineglass. "I drank yours, so you drink mine. Cheers."

Her eyes widened adorably. She whispered, "What have you done?"

He winked. "I think you know."

Boot cursed Merlin's hairy backside. "I take no responsibility for this, and I don't give refunds."

Scorpius raised an eyebrow. "Wouldn't dream of asking."

"Then everything's sorted," Niall said. "Go home and sleep it off, mate."

"No, thank you." Scorpius blinked in surprise. The potion didn't make him agree, but what if he had been a weaker person who craved approval or affection—would the effect have been stronger? A date rape potion? How could he prove it? He didn't even have the name of the source in the Auror Office.

Boot jabbed him in the chest with a troll-sized finger. "Leave my club before I toss you out!"

Scorpius held up his hands in a gesture of peace when Boot started toward him. "Don't bother escorting me to the door. I'll find my way."

"We're all leaving," Rose said.

His enchantress. Scorpius stroked her cheek. "Do you realise that no matter who you look like, you're the most breathtaking woman in the room?" He traced her mouth with his fingertips. "But I'm happy this is yours again." Her lips parted, and he kissed her without inhibition, closing his eyes to block out the world and let the image of Rose's true beauty fill his mind. The taste of strawberry and pineapple on her tongue intoxicated. The scent of her perfumed skin drove his hands to explore and caress. He couldn't get close enough, couldn't kiss deeply enough to satisfy the need that blocked out sight and sound and reduced the world to fevered touch.

Until a blast of ice-cold water hit him in the face.

" _Are you mental? My brother will kill you!"_

Scorpius opened his eyes. Rose stared at him like she couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry. Droplets clung to her eyelashes. He said, "I'm madly in love."

She gave a watery laugh. "Let's get out of here."

He took her hand, and they walked through the crowd of onlookers. At the exit, he stopped. "I'll meet you at home. There's something I have to do first."

"What?"

He brought her fingers to his lips. "Find my old costume and see if it fits."

 


	19. Green Knight

 

The first time he'd Apparated to Malfoy Manor from London, Scorpius had vomited. Tonight he stood next to the wrought iron gate without a trace of nausea. _Interesting._ Was his calm stomach due to an ingredient in the potion or his relaxed mental state? He decided it didn't matter. He had a more immediate concern.

Grandmother's peacocks roosted in trees at night, but his Niffler roamed the grounds searching for the gold nuggets Stephens planted during the day. If Felix caught a whiff of his master, his squeals would alert everyone in the house.

Scorpius walked in the darkness, skimming his fingers along the tall yew hedge until the elegant barrier to uninvited guests ended and a wall of stone and flint began. The anti-intruder spells on the hedge repelled anyone who attempted to bypass the front gate, but the security wards on the stone merely repelled those who weren't Malfoys. He levitated over the wall. Unless his grandparents entertained, only the torches at the front of the manor burned throughout the night. The side garden was a tapestry in shades of black. Once his feet touched the ground, Scorpius Apparated.

His destination was a remnant of childhood hidden in the thicket of trees beyond his mother's herb garden. He'd built a fort there when he was seven. Mrs. Stevens had allowed him to raid the linen cupboard for sheets, while her husband provided the instruction and rope. Scorpius played jungle explorer until the day he'd found a wooden castle in place of his tent.

A black banner emblazoned with a crimson snake still hung from the flagpole; spells protected the castle from decay. Scorpius Apparated to the platform at the top. He'd rained down thousands of arrows through the notches in the crenelated battlement, decimating hordes of imaginary invaders. As he grew older, the castle became a place to escape the tension between his parents and grandfather, a place to play with Felix, read a comic, or listen to a Quidditch match on the wireless.

He climbed down a ladder to reach the Great Hall. The Hall was the only room in the castle, decorated with a stone fire pit and a medieval chair. Scorpius knelt down to press one of the square panels on the back wall. A door in the wood swung open. He reached inside and pulled out a rucksack. He felt sixteen again. Nervous, excited, and willing to pay anything to imitate his favourite Creevey character not only in costume, but in secrecy, owling measurements and scrolls of instructions to three different tailors and a boot maker.

Scorpius exchanged one costume for another, grimacing slightly at the tightness of the armoured shirt until the fabric stretched to fit his arms and chest. The Sizing Charms added length to his trousers and sleeves. His boots didn't change, and the cloak was still flawless. Permanent Shield Charms provided protection, and an Eternal Concealment Charm cast on the hood wreathed his face in impenetrable shadow—an extra expense worth every Galleon when the Plain Jane potion wore off at Comic Con and he wanted to stay without being recognised.

He froze when something scratched at the door.

Felix.

"Sorry, mate, I don't have time to play," Scorpius said.

A heart-tugging whimper echoed.

Scorpius pushed back the hood of his cloak and opened the door.

Felix bounded toward him, chirping excitedly, his rat-like tail wagging. Scorpius picked the Niffler up. "I missed you too." The charm on the bandana tied around his neck modulated his voice into something unrecognisable. Deep and gruff. Powerful. Felix seemed unimpressed. He rolled over to let Scorpius pet the slick black fur on his belly. There was silver on the long snout. His friend was Grandfather's age in Niffler years. Felix clutched Scorpius's finger with his two front paws and made contented whuffling sounds.

"You wouldn't like it in the city," Scorpius said. "You'd have to burrow in the planting boxes on the terrace." He could take Felix to a park; give him exercise chasing a gold ball. An Appearance Charm collar and Muggles would think the Niffler was a dachshund.

Felix licked Scorpius's finger.

"A visit," Scorpius said. "I'll tell Rose it's a visit." He cast a sleep spell and then tucked Felix inside a cloak pocket. He stashed the Loki Scamander outfit, climbed to the battlement, and Apparated.

 

He took the chance that Rose was still with her family and went to the penthouse to retrieve his wand. He left Felix curled up with a gold watch at the end of the bed. The headache pounding Scorpius's skull from all the wandless magic he'd done sent him rifling through the apothecary cupboard. Cough Potion, Drowsiness Draught—was Rose having trouble sleeping? He opened another drawer. Pain Relief Potion. He swallowed every ginger infused drop.

The instant his headache subsided, he used his wand to cast a Disillusionment Charm. He slipped out of the building and Apparated to Lumos Duo. Security wards would trigger alarms if he used a spell to open a window or door. At the front entrance, Undoing Charms prevented anyone from using Disillusionment or Concealing Charms to sneak people or contraband items into the club. He waited in the alley behind the building for Boot or an employee to step outside.

And waited.

And  _waited_  . . . .

In comics, Super Wizard never had to wait to confront his enemies. He always arrived at the perfect moment to fight Dark wizards. The Green Knight also had Creevey-given uncanny good timing, but once, when hit with an Incarcerous spell and left to die in a burning warehouse, the Green Knight had used wandless magic to summon help. Scorpius had his wand. His spell should work even more quickly.

" _Affere_ Barry Boot!"

Moments later, Boot rushed out the door, wand in hand. "Where's the fire?"

The burning warehouse. Scorpius had been thinking about the Creevey comic as he cast the Summoning Charm. " _Incarcerous! Petrificus Totalus!_ "

Boot's wand dropped to the brick pavers as its owner froze in place. "Black walnut loses power when the one who wields it practices self-deception." Scorpius's voice was a threatening growl. He picked up the wand. "I think it wants a new match." He had to take Boot somewhere else. A rundown warehouse came to mind. One he remembered vividly. One Malfoy Enterprises didn't own. He wrapped gloved fingers around one of the cords binding his prisoner and Apparated.

The Goyle warehouse was tidier than he recalled. No broken glass on the floor. Windows boarded over. Edgar must be trying to sell. Scorpius said, " _Nox_ ," to extinguish the glowing tip of the wand he'd taken from Boot. Darkness replaced light.

"How does it feel to be powerless?" he asked. "To be at the mercy of another's whim?" Scorpius counted to sixty in English and Latin. Enough time for Boot to fear what his captor might do and acknowledge his inability to defend himself. Scorpius silently chanted, " _Lumos Solem."_ The beam of light from Boot's wand illuminated the wizard's wide, fixed stare. "I'm giving you a chance to redeem yourself, Mr. Boot. Follow my instructions and you'll have immunity. The world may even call you a hero. Disobey . . . ." Scorpius's tone rasped with menace. "And I will destroy everything you love."

A memory augment charm ensured that his instructions would stay fresh in Boot's mind. Released from the  _Petrificus Totalus_ , Boot didn't try to fight or run. He begged.

"Don't hurt my brother. I'll do anything you want. Just don't hurt Terry. For Merlin's sake."

" _Silencio."_ Scorpius grabbed his prisoner's arm and doused the wand's light. "You are the one who with the choice to hurt or save, Mr. Boot."

He Apparated to an alley near the telephone box that served as the visitor's entrance to the Ministry of Magic. "Speak to no one until you enter the box, and I'll return your wand to Terry—one way or another." He used a Disillusionment Charm and backed out of reach before countering the spells that held Boot bound.

"Owl Post," Boot said. "You send it Owl Post." He stumbled out of the alley.

Scorpius levitated to the rooftop. He watched Boot enter the telephone box and stood at the edge of the roof long after the box disappeared into the ground. He wanted to feel satisfaction or triumph. Anything but a sense of hollow victory.

 

He went home. Rose was on the terrace playing with Felix. Her emerald green chemise—satin, by the sheen—flirted with her thighs as she knelt to pick up the Galleon Felix had dropped by her toes. She sent it rolling toward the French doors where Scorpius stood disillusioned in magical and non-magical ways. Felix ignored the coin and ran to his master and snuffled at invisible boots.

"It took you a long time to find your costume," Rose said. "Why won't you let me see it? Doesn't it fit?"

"It fits."

Rose blinked. "Oh. It disguises your voice too."

"Or reveals it." He countered the Disillusionment Charm. "The way a costume reveals the man inside."

She moved closer. "Take off the cloak. I want to see you."

He pushed back the hood.

Rose's eyes searched his face. "Something happened. Tell me," she said softly.

How to begin? "My grandfather used to say that it isn't who I am, underneath, but what I do that defines me." Lucius Malfoy wanted his grandson to be defined as a Knight of Walpurgis. "If that's true, when Barry Boot walks into the Auror Offices he's a hero." Scorpius untied the bandana to speak in his own voice. "And I'm a monster."

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos to everyone who recognised the Batman quote, "It isn't who I am, underneath. . . ."


	20. The Enchantress

 

 

"I terrorised him," Scorpius said. "Kept him bound in the dark in Goyle's warehouse."

"Did you hurt him?" Rose asked. "Use a curse, or a hex, or your fists?"

There were worse things than physical pain. "I threatened to destroy everything he loved."

Rose lifted her chin. "Only threats, after what he's done? You let him off easy."

She didn't understand. "I wanted to destroy him. Burn down the club. Ruin his life, his brother's life. I wanted to make him suffer."

"That makes you human, not a monster. My father quit working with Uncle Harry at the Auror Office when he realised that he was using excessive force to apprehend Dark wizards. He couldn't get past wanting revenge. But you did. You let Barry Boot go." She scooped up Felix and pressed him into Scorpius's arms. "Pet him. It reduces stress. I'll get a blanket for him to sleep on." She walked past Scorpius into the bedroom.

He followed her inside, still off-balanced by what she'd shared about her father. "Nifflers like to sleep in high places."

"Like on a shelf?" Rose pointed to the modular scaffolding unit he'd designed to look like a tree, if trees were white and branches were made to hold books instead of leaves. Somehow, he'd never got round to putting books on the shelves.

"He prefers a hammock." Scorpius shifted Felix into the crook of one arm and reached into his pocket for his wand. There were two. Boot's wand felt cold.

_Black walnut loses power when the one who wields it practices self-deception._

Scorpius used his oak wand to conjure a hammock between the two highest branch-shelves. He said, "I thought I preferred bookshelves that looked like art, but deep down I must have wanted a Niffler climbing frame." He set Felix down and watched him nimbly scramble up shelves to reach the hammock. "I could tell you he's here for a visit—"

"But you want him to stay." Rose smiled. "I want him to stay too."

"It's a commitment," Scorpius said. Why he couldn't just be grateful that she liked his pet, why he had to delve further, he blamed on the potion's lingering influence. "Another step in our relationship."

"As in, first a couple dates, then they move into a flat, and then they get a pet?" Rose giggled. "I'm sorry," she said. "I love that you want us to take care of Felix together." Another giggle. "I'm laughing at myself, because this is so . . .  _different . . ._ from what I expected after that kiss in the club." A wash of pink coloured her cheeks. "I thought you left to get your costume so you could—" Her blush deepened. "So you could show me how well it fits." She gestured to her chemise. "I'd be the Enchantress, seducing the Green Knight."

"I ruined the fantasy." He unfastened his cloak and tossed it aside.

Rose moved in closer. Her thighs brushed his. "Not if you realise that it's the man underneath the costume that I love." She rapped his armoured chest with the back of a knuckle. "And I expect to define our relationship with very specific types of actions."

He took off shirt. "I have to warn you. I'm under the influence of a potion that loosens inhibitions."

She slid her hands up his torso. "I plan to take full advantage of it." Her eyes slid to bookshelves. "Once you put Felix outside."

 

Rose made good on her promise, so much so that Scorpius had to drag himself out of bed when he heard the scratching of claws against glass.

"We need to create a Niffler door," Rose said sleepily.

Scorpius let Felix inside. "Tomorrow. Until then, I refuse to concentrate on anything except you." He picked up Felix and then stood immobile. Unblinking. "Stay," he murmured. His pet obligingly stilled.

Laughter was his reward. Rose asked, "You're trying to make me believe that his collar was cursed with another Body-Bind spell?" When he didn't answer, she said, "You know, if I were the Enchantress, and you were really at my mercy, I would do naughty things to you."

_Yes, please_. He heard the rustle of sheets. Rose was getting out of bed. He began mentally listing magical herbs and fungi to control his body's reaction.

"Shall I—oh, no, someone just got off the lift outside."

Nice try, very convincing, but he wasn't giving up his pretence until her hands were all over him.

"I mean it," Rose said sharply. "Look at the security orb."

He looked. A chime sounded. Their visitor was at the front door. Scorpius placed Felix on the bed and snatched up all the pieces of his Green Knight costume. He dumped Boot's wand, which now felt warm—fickle object—into one of his boots. "Don't put on clothes," he told Rose. "We've been rudely awakened, and you're worried that someone is hurt. Throw on a dressing gown." Scorpius spread his cloak on the floor and used it to wrap up his costume. Rose handed him a black dressing gown. He put it on and then shoved the cloak bundle into the linen cupboard on the way to the front door.

Rose looked through the WideVision viewer that allowed homeowners to see through solid wood. "It's Teddy. Let me do the talking." She opened the door. "Merlin, Teddy, why are you here so late? Did something happen? My parents—" If Scorpius hadn't known better, he would have thought her sincerely distraught.

Lupin said, "They're fine. May I come in?" He wore the same clothes from earlier, but he'd changed his spiky hair to Harry Potter black. An omen of things to come, Scorpius was sure.

Rose gestured for their guest to enter the foyer.

Scorpius pretended to stifle a yawn. "Bit late for a social visit."

"I'm here in official capacity, actually."

"Then I won't offer you a drink," Scorpius said. Etiquette required that he ask Lupin to have a seat in the lounge. Etiquette could go hang. "Why are you here?"

"Barry Boot showed up at the Auror Offices a couple of hours ago. He turned himself in."

Rose gasped. "Because of what happened at Lumos Duo?"

Lupin's assessing gaze never left Scorpius. "Where did you go when you left the club, Malfoy?"

Scorpius smiled thinly. "None of your business."

Rose made an impatient sound. "Teddy, isn't it obvious that he's been here with me?"

Lupin's dark eyes—pupils matching the iris, the better to intimidate, presumably—flickered over their dressing gowns and bare feet. "Not the whole time, Rosie." With the air of a barrister presenting Exhibit A, he removed a silver Trackingbrall from his pocket.

_Ron and George are in the process of imbedding voice-activated recorders into Trackingbralls for the Auror Office._

Harry Potter had been wrong when he'd said those words during their chat at the Burrow: the recorders were no longer prototypes. Scorpius raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying I've been under surveillance?" He wanted to know if he was officially a Person of Interest. No Trackingbrall could follow long-distance Apparation.

"Of course not. I recorded this conversation in the club." Lupin tapped the Trackingbrall and muttered a spell. A garble of sound emitted, followed by Scorpius's voice saying he'd meet Rose at home after finding his old costume.

"Did it fit?" Lupin asked.

" _Edward Remus Lupin!"_ Rose stepped in front of Scorpius, hands on hips. "What we do in the privacy of our bedroom is no concern of yours!"

Lupin flushed red, then paled, and then flushed again before managing to change his skin tone to an unflustered shade. "That's not—what you do mean  _our bedroom?_ Are you living here? No. Don't answer. I'll not be side-tracked." He pulled a folded up piece of parchment out of a trouser pocket. Exhibit B. "Boot claimed an unidentified wizard  _persuaded_ him to turn Ministry's witness." Lupin unfolded the parchment to reveal a drawing of the Green Knight. "Is it a coincidence that you left and a wizard dressed up as a comic book vigilante kidnapped Boot a half hour later?"

"Dennis Creevey wrote him as a hero anti-hero," Scorpius replied, "And coincidences happen all the time."

"We'll see." Lupin waved his wand. " _Accio_ costume!"

Scorpius slid his arms around Rose's waist. "It's all right," he murmured, although he held his breath until he saw two pieces of clothing fly into the room and land on the Carrera marble next to Lupin's shoe. "The chemise is hers," Scorpius said dryly.

Lupin gawked at the dark robes. "Professor Doom?" His eyes narrowed. "When did Professor Doom ever hook up with the Enchantress?"

A true Wizard Comic fan would know. Scorpius curled his lip. "The AU series." An unpopular two-part storyline that ended with Doom waking up from a dream. Fans preferred the villainous former potions professor unlucky in love.

"You even have his monogram," Lupin said. "S.S. for Silvanus Smythe. I've seen these exact robes at a Comic Con." He shook his head like a dog shaking off water. "That means I saw you at Comic Con, Malfoy, and if you had the Galleons to have this made, you had the Galleons to order a Green Knight costume."

"Those robes belonged to Severus Snape. My father gave them to me. They're a family heirloom. Don't touch them," Scorpius said when Lupin started to reach out a hand.

Rose said, "Teddy, you need to leave."

Lupin's fingers clenched and unclenched. Scorpius experienced an unwanted ping of sympathy. He said, "Fine. Touch the robes and then go." He set his jaw when Lupin merely examined the label inside the collar and let the robes puddle on the floor.

"Just checking that these really belonged to Snape. No offense, but I outgrew most of that kiddie comic book stuff ages ago. I barely remember the characters." He sauntered toward the door.

Scorpius ignored the Slytherin voice of caution that advised him not to follow, to allow Lupin have the last word. He said, "I suppose you don't remember any conversations you had at Comic Cons, then."

"Probably not," Lupin replied.

"Not even this?" Scorpius gave into the urge to wipe the condescension off Lupin's face. He said, "Rose is better," and closed the door.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to write an angsty one shot about Ron and George to go with this chapter, to show how they became partners in the shop, helping each other make it through a tough time in their lives and making Fred proud, but “Rose is better” reminded me of the party scene in The Avengers: Age of Ultron where Tony and Thor are trying to one up each other over who has the best girlfriend. I couldn't resist. I wrote (and posted!) a one shot called Rose is Better, which takes place at—you guessed it—Creevey Comic Con. 
> 
> If anyone's interested in seeing what I imagined Scorpius's bookshelf to look like, Google modular scaffolding by Maria Yasko. The first image is the Icelandic tree, i.e., Niffler climbing frame.


	21. Dynamic Duo

 

"Why did you say I'm better?" Rose asked.

Scorpius couldn't turn around. Couldn't answer. He was still in shock that he'd allowed anger to override self-preservation. That he'd acted on emotion instead of logic like a Hufflepuff or a Gryffindor. He tensed when Rose put a hand on his arm. Her fingers stroked lightly through black silk.

_She's soothing you because you're acting like a child._ He could imagine Grandfather Lucius's disgust.  _Did Potter's orphan hurt your feelings when he disparaged your precious comics? Was having the last word worth triggering his memory? I won't break you out if you get sent to Azkaban. Arranging an accident for Gregory is all I can do. He'll strangle you with his bare hands otherwise._

"I ran into Lupin at a Comic Con." Scorpius looked at Rose. "I was the Green Knight. He was Super Wizard. We argued over who was better, LaVeela or the Enchantress."

"The Enchantress," Rose said.

"Of course, but the issue hadn't come out yet." In  _LaVeela V The Enchantress_ , Gwyn the Enchantress put a vision into LaVeela's mind of her family vineyard burning and the dozen orphans she supported trapped in a cellar, gasping for air. LaVeela abandoned the fight with her rival to save the day. Fans had been disappointed that there was no hand to hand combat.

"That doesn't explain what you said."

No, it didn't. "Creevey used the physical traits of his real life heroes for his characters. One of the reasons why I like the Green Knight is because he wasn't based on a hero from the Battle of Hogwarts." Rose gazed at him steadily. Scorpius quit prolonging his confession. "That Comic Con was where I realised that I fancied the Enchantress because she looked like you."

Rose instantly understood, clever girl. "Oh, Merlin." She peered through the front door viewer. "He's gone. Damn." She raced toward the bedroom, disrobing as she went. "We have to go to Teddy's flat."

Scorpius dragged his eyes away from Rose's backside to say, "And confirm his suspicions?"

She turned on her heel. "You already did that."

"Not necessarily. After I said Rose instead of Gwyn, I immediately covered the slip." He draped her dressing gown over her shoulders. "Lupin and I agreed to disagree. We never spoke again."

"Teddy has a good memory." She gestured to the creamy skin showing between the open edges of her dressing gown. "You might not have covered up as much as you thought."

Scorpius was reluctant to concede the point. "He said he barely remembered the characters."

"He knew Professor Doom's name was Silvanus Smythe."

She was right and he'd been played. Scorpius strode past her to retrieve his bundle from the linen cupboard. "Anti-Summoning Charm," he said when he saw Rose watching him with arched brows.

"I figured that out when the Doom robes showed up." She planted her hands on her hips. "What are you going to do with the Green Knight costume  _now_?"

"I'm going to put it on. I can't be seen going to Lupin's flat."

"We," Rose said. " _We_ are going to Teddy's flat."

"After we make a stop in Knockturn Alley." Scorpius went into the bedroom and put Felix out on the terrace do his business in a designated planting box. He didn't want any accidents while they were gone. Niffler droppings looked like black pearls, and he didn't want Rose to mistakenly pick them up. He turned to find his love standing in the doorway, blocking his return to the bedroom. Her dressing gown still hung open.

"I'm your partner," she said, "Your ally. Not your sidekick. I want to make plans with you, not just tag along."

"Agreed."

"Good." Rose backed out of the doorway. "What's in Knockturn Alley?"

"The warlock who cast the spells on my cloak. Every time I see him he reminds me that he has another one available." Scorpius whistled for Felix to stop kicking dirt out of the planter. "Good boy," he said when the Niffler came running. They joined Rose in the bedroom. "The wizard who originally commissioned the cloak for his wife tried to pay for it in instalments," Scorpius said. "Naturally, Zod declined."  _After hexing the wizard._

"Warlock Zod."

"His real name is Zitomir."

"That isn't what I wanted to know."

Gryffindors were hard to side-track. "Zod owns Warlock Comics. We became pen friends, discussing my orders, and then the comics. I started visiting the shop." On holidays, on the sly, because his parents would have forbidden it, even though Zod was the only person who could match his encyclopaedic knowledge of wizard comics, and he'd taught Scorpius more about duelling than any Defense Against Dark Arts professor.

Rose's tiny smile asked  _Was that so hard to admit?_  "I bought a poster of the Green Knight there once," she said. "I used to take it out and imagine your face beneath the hood." If she was trying to make him feel less awkward and juvenile by confessing her own comic-inspired fantasies, it was working.

Scorpius asked, "What else did you imagine?"

"I'll tell you later."

Right. Priorities. They had to find Zod, then Lupin. "Wear black."

 

"Knockturn Alley is a lot like Diagon Alley," Rose said as they pushed past a street vendor offering lemon and rosewater samples of fiendishly addictive Turkish delight. "Except that most of the streetlamps aren't working, and everything is dodgy."

"Which is why we fit in." Most witches and wizards with business in Knockturn Alley pulled their hoods up to hide their faces. The people who didn't were usually tourists.

"The Guts for Garters!" Rose exclaimed as they passed a sign that displayed ropey intestines tied around a woman's shapely thigh. "Uncle George won a rum drinking contest there after the war. He'd let me wear his pirate hat when I visited the shop. And look, there's the Disturbed Spirit. That's . . . where Uncle George won his crystal ball."

"After the war?" Scorpius didn't wait for the answer. "My father used to drink a lot too."

Rose leaned into him, her side warm against his. "I can't imagine how terrible it must have been."

Neither could he.

"But things are better now," Rose said. "And what you did helped keep it that way." She tugged on his arm when they neared the end of the alley and he didn't veer left to enter Warlock Comics. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

"Zod's never at the shop in the evenings." Scorpius pointed to the building that resembled a haunted house. "He makes deals at his wife's pub, the Sleazy Kneazle. Don't look at the sign."

She looked. "I preferred the gut garter."

So did he; Kneazles should personify cleverness, not sleaze.

The security troll jerked an enormous thumb toward the back of the queue when they approached.

"We're here to see Zod," Scorpius said. He lowered his voice. "Tell him that the Raven will take flight." He hoped Rose wouldn't catch the last part. Somehow, the voice modulator made the words sound even cheesier.

The troll said, "Stay," to the group of wizards and witches-shop clerks on a pub crawl from their clothes and state of cheerful drunkenness. He lumbered into the pub.

Rose said, "The Raven? Is that some super-secret boy code?"

She'd heard. "Yes." He waited for her to comment, and when she didn't he wondered if she thought he was treating her like a sidekick by not elaborating. He said, "In one of the Multiverse series, Gywn became the crime-fighting Raven instead of the Enchantress. She and the Green Knight were allies."

"And lovers?"

"Always." Creevey was admirably consistent in his romantic pairings.

The troll returned. "Come," he told them. He turned his stony gaze on the hopefuls in the queue. "Wait."

"I'm starting to feel guilty about queue-jumping," Rose said as they followed the troll. "This is the third time in two days." She looked around. "Although maybe we did them a favour."

"You don't fancy the décor?" Everything in the pub, from the walls and floors to the tables and chairs, was stained and gouged and scratched. The roughness was part of the appeal. Scorpius did his own survey of the room and estimated that the current ratio of dangerous to non-dangerous wizards and witches was two to one. Not bad. He'd visited on worse nights. Wet hag contests. Goblin karaoke.

"It's very organic," Rose said. He couldn't see her face, but her tone was cheeky. "All the distressed wood."

"Done by hand."

"Curses and knives?"

"And the occasional magic sword." In several places, the wood panelling was hacked and slashed.

The troll's grunt might have been mistaken for amusement at their banter, but he nodded toward the back corner and then left them to go break up a fight on the dance floor.

Rose reached for Scorpius's hand. "Is Zod as friendly as he appears?"

Long craggy face, fierce eyebrows: his friend did look the part. "He earned the title of warlock during the second war. Creevey was going to make his namesake a hero, but Zod's anti-Ministry, anti-anything law enforcement, actually. He preferred to be a comic book villain."

"So that's a yes."

"You'll see."

Zod sat at a table with his back to the wall, puffing on his pipe. He blew a smoke ring toward them with a snap of his jaw. "It's been a long time since I smelled beautiful."

"The Chronicles of the Green Knight. R— _Raven,_ I'd like you to meet the original Warlock Zod. Zod, this my partner, Raven."

"It will be a pleasure, I'm sure." Zod rose to his feet. "We'll talk in my office." He placed a hand on the wall. A door appeared. "Ladies first."

Scorpius said, "Age before beauty."

Zod had a dragon like laugh. "The Chronicles quote making you nervous?" He smirked at Rose. "Zod kidnapped the fair Raven and held her hostage."

"I'm sure she freed herself." Rose pressed Scorpius's fingers reassuringly and then stepped forward.

He trailed close behind her, keeping an eye on Zod, who shook his head. "Don't think she needs your protection, son."

"I'm watching your back. Someone could have reported your compliment to Annis by now."

Another rumble of dragon laughter. "What does my wife care about beauty? Annis is a hag amongst hags."

Scorpius heard a breathy "Oh my." Rose had stepped inside Zod's office. It was a jolting contrast to the starkness of the pub. Red velvet panels hung from the ceiling and draped the walls. Settees and chairs were upholstered in a velvet pattern of red and gold. A gold framed Creevey painting of Warlock Zod hung on the wall behind the gilded desk, beneath the light of a crystal chandelier.

"It's like a Gryffindor bordello," Rose murmured.

Zod gave a snort of amusement as he shut the door behind them. "There are four hidden rooms, each with different House colours. None of them used for their original purpose in a hundred years. Available for parties. My wife caters." He settled himself behind the desk. "Have a seat. We're all friends here, Miss Weasley."

Scorpius pushed his hood back. Rose did the same. They both remained standing.

Zod extinguished his pipe. "No time for pleasantries?"

"Afraid not," Scorpius said, "We need the cloak for—" He decided to match the room and be blunt. "A secret mission."

"The Raven will take flight." Zod chuckled. "I never thought this day would come."

"More boy code?" Rose asked Scorpius.

"Indeed," Zod said. He waved his wand at the painting behind the desk. It wavered and transformed into the door of a safe. "Turn around. I require privacy."

They turned. Scorpius said, "I told you Zod offered to let me buy the cloak. I left out that I said it wouldn't be worth the Galleons unless there was a Raven to take flight." He shrugged. "That sounded less cheesy when I was fifteen."

"I think it's romantic."

Zod cleared his throat. "Before I pronounce you Green Knight and Raven, there is the small matter of payment."

 

"Now I'm feeling guilty that you spent all those Galleons on my cloak," Rose said as they approached Lupin's block of flats on Great Dover Street.

"I wouldn't have given the money to charity." He donated more than enough to Wizards for the Ethical Treatment of Magical Creatures and the Creevey Foundation. "And you heard what Zod said. All sales are final."

"It is lovely. The fabric printed with feathers."

Real feathers would have been impractical. He'd asked. Scorpius broke into a jog to catch up to one of Lupin's neighbours before he entered the building. " _Confundo!_ "

The wizard tried to peer beneath Scorpius's hood. "Do I know you?"

"Yes, I'm one of Lupin's friends."

"He has loads of those," the wizard said enviously.

"Yes, he's Mr. Popular." Scorpius said. "Have a nice evening." He and Rose went past the man into the lobby and up the stairs. Rose took off her cloak and handed it to Scorpius, who cast a Disillusionment Charm.

"I act distressed, he opens the door, you cast a Memory Charm," Rose said. She halted before they reached the landing to the top floor. "But what if he's wearing Shield Charm pyjamas?"

"Punch him," Scorpius replied.

"I can do that."

He was sure she could. Hugo was the kind of brother who provoked physical violence.

Rose did an excellent job at projecting distress while she knocked frantically on Lupin's door. "Teddy, it's me. Open up."

Harry Potter opened the door.

"Uh—what are you doing here?" Rose asked.

Harry Potter frowned. "I'm clearing up your mess."

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, the trouble Teddy Lupin has caused me! I originally intended for Rose and Scorpius to cast the Memory Charm, but Teddy was too self-confident, and I couldn't imagine him taken down without a fight that would wake the neighbours. In the Batman Multiverse Earth 2 series, Bruce Wayne married Selena Kyle. I made up Raven because it seemed like a wizarding counterpart to Robin, and more kick ass. When I started writing about Zod, I intended for Scorpius to only be a valued customer, but then I realised that it would have started that way and become a friendship, not just because of their mutual interests, but because Scorpius is an only child who grew up surrounded by adults, so he never felt any awkwardness around them. Combined with Scorpius's Mr. Darcy quality penmanship, and if he used Stevens's name in initial correspondence, I'm sure Zod thought his pen friend was much older. Imagine his surprise when Scorpius walked into his shop and introduced himself! :D


	22. Super Wizard

 

Rose recovered faster than Scorpius. While his thoughts were still a jumble of what did Lupin say, how are we going to deal with this, she said, "It won't be messy if Teddy doesn't go round telling everyone Scorpius and I are living together."

"You're living together?" Potter sounded genuinely surprised.

"Didn't Teddy tell you that?" Rose asked.

Potter gazed at her levelly. "We all know what he told me." He raised his gaze to the spot behind her right shoulder where Scorpius stood unseen. "All three of us. Come inside. We have to talk."

Lupin's flat was small and decorated in shades of beige and brown. The only splashes of colour were the green lager bottles on a table and the turquoise hair of the wizard sleeping on the sofa. Scorpius chanted a counter spell to the Disillusionment Charm and removed his cloak and the bandana around his throat. He hung the cloaks on pegs beside the door for quick access. "Did he pass out drunk?"

"Teddy will remember it that way," Potter said.

Scorpius looked at Rose. He raised an eyebrow.  _Your uncle used a Memory Charm?_ She smiled a little, as if to say,  _If he did, he can't be too angry with us._

Potter said, "Let's have that talk."

They sat at the bistro table that divided the lounge and kitchenette. The silence was beyond tense. No wonder Aurors used it as a tool to force confessions. Scorpius lined up the bottles in a row between their side of the table and Potter's, avoiding eye contact. The last thing he wanted was to share mental images of Rose in an untied dressing gown.

Rose cracked first. "If we're just going to listen to Teddy snore, why are we here, Uncle Harry?"

Playing the family card. Nicely done.

"You shouldn't be here," Potter replied. "None of us should. I should be home with my wife, and you two should confine your dress up games to the privacy of your bedroom." He held up his hands. "I apologise. That was uncalled for. Teddy divulged more than he should have, and I promise his . . . revelations . . . will go no further."

Scorpius said, "If you'd like to forget, I have a Memory Charm for that."

"One you planned to use on Teddy?" Potter shook his head. "Against a wary target, that's not so easy to do." He gave a regretful smile. "Unless you're someone he trusts."

Like his godfather. "Thank you," Scorpius said. "I won't make the same mistakes again."

Potter raked his hand through his hair. "At least you acknowledge that you made them. It's a start." He got up and went to the kitchenette, opening a cabinet. He brought back three Butterbeers. "I poured out all the lager and we need to keep clear heads." He handed them each a bottle before opening his own and taking a long drink. Potter turned his chair around and sat with his forearms resting on the back. He pointed his bottle toward Scorpius. "Tell me your mistakes."

Acknowledging them wasn't enough? Scorpius said, "I lost my temper. I didn't hold my tongue."

Rose said, "I didn't open the door and jinx Teddy when I had the chance."

"Which jinx would you have used?" Scorpius asked.

"Impediment or Jelly-Legs."

Potter stared them down like a professor waiting to bring the class discussion back on topic. He told Scorpius, "The biggest mistake of the night was how you handled Barry Boot."

_Incriminate myself? No thank you._  "It was a group enquiry," Scorpius said. "Rose's parents, her uncle, cousins, Lupin."

"I'm talking about the kidnapping, and no, I'm not secretly recording this conversation. You have my word."

And Super Wizard's word was his bond. Scorpius glanced at Rose. She nodded. He said, "I didn't think of it as kidnapping until Lupin started throwing accusations around."

Potter asked, "What did you think you were doing?"

"I wanted him to feel powerless like his victims. I wanted him to fear me."

Silence. And then, "Next time do that without infringing on personal liberty by carrying someone off by force without their consent."

Potter wasn't telling him off or speaking down to him. He was giving sound advice. It shouldn't have been so hard to say, "Yes, sir." Rose put a hand over the fist Scorpius had clenched on his thigh. He managed to say the words respectfully and added, "Not that I plan to do it again."

"I'm glad to hear it, but there's a saying: Failing to plan is planning to fail. Before you put on that suit again, plan how to handle different scenarios, different adversaries. Practice your offensive and defensive spells." He turned to Rose, "That goes for you, too, since you're determined to put yourself in harm's way."

"Are you saying Lupin would have harmed her?"

Stern eyes returned to Scorpius. "Even a Disarming Charm can blast a witch or wizard across the room."

"I wasn't in danger," Rose said. "If Teddy had been protected by Shield Charms, I would've knocked him out the Muggle way—a punch to the jaw to snap his head to the side, causing impact to the brain, compressed blood vessels, and unconsciousness."

"Aurors are taught to brace themselves to absorb the impact of physical punches," Potter said. "You wouldn't have knocked Teddy out."

Rose lifted her chin. "He wouldn't have braced anything. The punch would've taken him by surprise."

"Aurors are taught constant vigilance."

"Vigilance against family?"

Potter's mouth opened and closed.

Rose, gracious in victory, said, "I'm sorry we worried you, Uncle Harry."

Scorpius took advantage of the lull in hostilities to ask, "What exactly did Lupin remember about Comic Con?" His attempt at a casual tone had the opposite effect than intended.

Potter's gaze sharpened. After a long moment, he said, "Teddy remembered Victoire pointing out your costume. She was impressed, and he was jealous, until he realised that the bloke swanning around as the Green Knight—his words, not mine—didn't fancy LaVeela." He smiled a little. "He didn't remember your conversation word for word. His memory's good, but not that good."  _Not like yours_ was implied. Scorpius had almost started to relax when Potter added, "Teddy remembered seeing you talk to Dennis Creevey." He glanced at the wizard sleeping open-mouthed on the sofa. Fatherly amusement laced his voice. "I think he was more jealous over you being singled out by Dennis than Victoire."

_I had to tell you that your costume is absolutely brilliant._

"You never told me that you met Uncle Dennis," Rose said.

"Uncle?"

"Honorary," Potter said. "Dennis is married to Gabrielle Delacour."

Dennis Creevey was Rose's honorary uncle. "Why didn't I meet him at the Burrow like the Scamanders?"

Rose rolled her eyes. "Aunt Gabby had a crush on Uncle Harry a million years ago, and she's still afraid Aunt Ginny will hex her over it. I don't see her and Uncle Dennis much, but they send the loveliest Christmas cards." Her lips curved impishly. "Are you impressed?"

"Very." If Creevey sent hand drawn cards, he was also jealous.

Potter said, "Teddy remembered Dennis being very impressed by your costume and sent his Patronus to ask me to contact Dennis and find out if the Green Knight told him his name."

"I didn't."

"I know," Potter said wryly. "I talked with Dennis after that Comic Con at the Iron Shackle."

Scorpius slanted a questioning glance at Rose. She said, "It's an Auror pub. No one pesters them for autographs."

The Head of Aurors would rate a private booth. No worries about eavesdroppers. "He told you about meeting me," Scorpius said.

"I'd never seen him so excited. He reminded me of his brother Colin," Potter said. "He hadn't asked your name, but he was certain that you were young, wealthy . . . and an ardent admirer of my niece Rose."

Scorpius's face felt odd. Prickly. Almost sunburned.

Potter said, "Something else you never told her?"

The burning sensation intensified.

" _Tepesco_ ," Rose said.

A magical breeze cooled Scorpius's skin and ruffled his hair. Her thoughtfulness swept away his embarrassment. He said, "Creevey allowed me to choose a middle name for the Enchantress. I was tongue-tied, overwhelmed by the honour, so he suggested Lily." The memory didn't make him cringe anymore. "I said, 'Rose is better'."

She gave him a melting look, even as she said, "The same thing you told Teddy."

"At the time, I wasn't concerned that anything I said might be used against me." But Potter had made the connection. "How long have you known?" Scorpius asked him. "Since you saw me with Rose on the King's Cross platform? Why didn't you tell Rose's parents?"

"It wasn't my confidence to share." Potter took a drink of his Butterbeer. "And speaking as a father, the last person I'd want sleeping under the same roof as my daughter is an 'ardent admirer'."

Hmmm. He had a point. Time to change the subject. "Is there anything else you wanted to discuss before we leave?"

Potter set his bottle down as if to signal the switch from Concerned Uncle to Auror. "Do you have any information about the Stop Snitching flyers in Knockturn Alley?"

"It didn't come up in dinner conversation," Scorpius said. "Rose did discover a promising lead."

She said, "Nathaniel Nott is the trainee Records Keeper for the Knights of Walpurgis."

"Excellent," Potter said. "What's your plan?"

Scorpius turned toward Rose. Her composure brilliantly concealed that they hadn't discussed the matter further. "I'll have lunch with Nathaniel at the Walpurgis Club. Get him to offer to show me around and then access his files. I'll use a Confundus Charm or a Sleeping Spell." He widened his eyes a fraction.  _Feel free to jump in at any time._

Rose said, "You'll need time to go through his files without the Head Records Keeper noticing. Polyjuice Potion will do if you can work quickly."

He nodded. "We'll have to buy it." Scorpius didn't mind picking fluxweed at the full moon, but he wasn't having the odour of stewed lacewing flies in the flat for twenty-one days. "I have a source." He would ask Zod.

Potter cleared his throat. "You have me."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't remember ever having a chapter long chat before, but each side had explaining to do. Thanks to everyone who’s read (or plans to read) the one shots Rose is Better and Mastermind vs. LaVeela! If anyone’s interested in a Charlie Weasley romance with a vampire, I’d love you to read The Midnight Watch (ch 1 posted today!)


	23. Ask Nott

 

An owl delivered a packet marked Fragile the following evening. Inside was another packet stamped _Authorised Use Only_. Scorpius brought it into a kitchen filled with the pungent aroma of Thai fish sauce and garlic. Rose stirred peppers in a wok on the cooker. She'd removed her Ministry robes and sensible heels. He watched her rub the sole of her left foot against her right calf and asked, "Are you imitating a crane because you're making stir fry?"

She grimaced. "I found out the Comfort Charms on my shoes weren't permanent." She used a spell to extinguish the flame under the wok. "Is that the Polyjuice Potion?"

"Unless Uncle Harry added the urge to send a housewarming present to his Memory Charm." He gave her the packet and lifted her by the waist to sit on the marble worktop. "You do the honours." He raised her injured foot for inspection. No bruises or blisters. He said, "Permanent force-absorption spells take a skill level that some companies don't wish to pay for." He ran a thumb along her arch and then pressed a spot halfway between the heel and the ball of her foot.

"Oh!" Rose's expression told him that the massage gave sweet relief.

"My mother stands on her feet for hours in the lab and often wears shoes purchased on impulse," he said. "I think my father presses more at an angle." He repositioned his thumb. "Same pressure?"

"A little more. Perfect." Rose sighed and then asked, "Did I hear you say  _Uncle Harry_?"

"He is married to your aunt." He took back the packet and opened it since she was too busy giggling. There was a note wrapped around a tiny clear flagon filled with what appeared to be sentient mud that blew bubbles to communicate.

_The Potions Master who brewed this guarantees two hours efficacy_.

Scorpius showed the note to Rose, who said, "Edmund Blofeld is the Head of the Auror Forensics and Potions division. He's a legend."

"Fortunate for me. Merlin knows what Nott Polyjuice will taste like." He tried to imagine the layout of the Walpurgis Club. Grandfather didn't have an architectural blueprint of the place, and Scorpius had only seen the lobby and dining hall.

Rose said, "It has to taste better than Orna's. Hers would be worse than Gurdyroots." She hopped down from the worktop. "Not even a little smile? I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings. I was laughing at myself because I didn't realise I'd miss how sexy you make 'Potter' sound until you said 'Uncle Harry' instead." She rubbed his upper lip with her fingertip. "Sometimes you curl this just enough to make you look like a rock star."

He curled his lip. "The Green Knight is better than any rock star." Scorpius returned the vial to its protective packet and set it aside. "You didn't hurt my feelings. I was trying to figure out where to stash Nott while I take his place."

Rose picked up the knife he had used to chop vegetables. "Do we need to have another partners not hero/sidekick discussion?"

"No."

"Good. I think you should keep it simple. Stick him under his desk and cast a Disillusionment Charm."

"All right."

She lowered the knife to the butcher's block. "I also think that you should make the prawn stir fry while I take a bubble bath."

He shook his head. "I can't let my partner bathe alone. I have to be there to massage whatever needs massaging. We'll make the stir fry together, later."

Rose swayed forward as if to kiss him and then spun on her heel and darted from the kitchen. "First one there chooses the bubbles!"

She won and chose an herbal bubble bath formulated to sooth aches and pains. Hours later, after an energetic bath and a relaxing dinner, they hid coins around the flat for Felix to hunt during the night. Scorpius placed a Galleon on the seat of a dining room chair and remembered the sensation of other diners furtively watching him at the Walpurgis Club. When would he be able to gather what he needed for the Polyjuice Potion?

"Thoughtful is a sexy look on you too," Rose said as he slipped beneath the covers and lay on his side facing her. "Bit pouty, very kissable."

He kissed her. "I can manoeuvre a tour of the club and Nott's office tomorrow at lunch, but I can't pick a hair off his robes. It's too suspicious. We were never that chummy, and the dining hall's a fishbowl."

"You mean a shark tank."

The corners of his mouth tugged upward. "Aquarium, perhaps. Not all Knights are sharks. Most are pilot fish feeding on the leftovers of the host species, metaphorically speaking."

Rose's eyes gleamed. "I can see Lucius tossing the peasants crusts of bread."

"Risk crumbs soiling his robes?" Scorpius playfully sneered. "Déclassé."

Her laugh shook her torso enticingly. "What's the new plan?" she asked.

He widened his eyes innocently. "Plan?"

She ran a hand across his chest and then pinched. "I never said you couldn't have ideas. I'm not trying to be managing. I just want to be included." Her fingers circled what she'd pinched.

The ideas he was having weren't about Nathaniel Nott. He entwined their fingers to improve concentration. "The Slytherin room at the Sleazy Kneazle would be a unique place to have a party. With all the distraction, it should be easy to lift a hair off the shoulder of Nott's robes."

"I could do it for you," Rose said.

"Then you agree the party's a good idea?" he asked smoothly. Too smoothly, by Rose's narrowed gaze.

"Define party," she said.

"A social gathering of invited guests." He tightened his grip when she tried to pull her fingers free. "Sorry, I couldn't resist." He kissed her hand. "If I invited everyone who was in my year, no one guest in particular would stand out. Except you."

"Because I'm so stimulating."

"As well as beautiful." He released her fingers and tucked a wayward curl behind her ear. "And brilliant. Bold." His smile was an invitation.

Rose didn't take the opportunity to find clever ways to explore his body. She said, "Before we throw a reunion party for Slytherin House, I think we need to invite my family over for dinner."

Reassure them that he wasn't luring her to the Dark side before creating another splash in the papers? Hers wasn't the only family that needed reassuring. "I'll invite my parents. Ask them to help me make pizzas in my new oven. Father will feel less nervous if he can help." If Scorpius was lucky, Mr. and Mrs. Stevens would volunteer to handle everything else. "Shall we say Saturday evening?"

"What's the occasion?"

Besides using the pizza oven insert to his new barbeque? The note of uncertainty in Rose's voice kept the flippant words unspoken. He didn't need to use Legilimency to know she was remembering him telling her parents that he wouldn't tell anyone they were living together. He wouldn't break his promise. If her family made assumptions based on her personal items scattered around the flat and Mini Crookshanks' presence on his bed, that was nothing to do with him. He said, "Housewarming party."

 

Scorpius stopped by his father's office before heading to the Walpurgis Club for lunch. The interior designer had chosen heavy dark furnishings, perhaps to impress visitors with the gravity of Legal Affairs. Slytherin green velvet draperies blocked the window. Draco Malfoy seemed unaffected by his dreary surroundings. He sat at his desk, smirking faintly as he read the  _Daily Prophet_.

"Let me guess. Grandfather submitted another letter to the editor."

His father chuckled and tossed the paper onto the desk. "No, the letter writer is Hermione Weasley, posing as an anonymous citizen demanding an enquiry into the mistreatment of fairies at that night club, Lumos Duo." His father rose to his feet and came around the desk to shake Scorpius's hand and pat him on the arm—the Slytherin equivalent of a Gryffindor bear hug.

"Why is that amusing?" Scorpius asked.

"It isn't. Not the fairy mistreatment." His father's smile turned sheepish. "I think it's funny that she still believes anonymity hides the authorship of her letters." He waved Scorpius to a visitor's chair and perched on the edge of his desk. "When I was at Hogwarts, there used to be an advice column in  _Witch Weekly_  called Dear Wise Wizard. Pansy Parkinson entertained our common room by reading aloud the letters." He grinned like a schoolboy. "One was from a girl who never claimed to know all the answers. It was obviously Granger asking for help getting Weasley to declare his feelings. No one else figured it out, but I laughed so hard." He said wistfully, "It was the only good laugh I had that year."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. The past only hurts if we allow it. What brings you to my office? Do you want to go to lunch?"

"I'm meeting Nott." Scorpius took the translucent vellum envelope out of his suit pocket. "I came to deliver this."

"An invitation? Written in your enviably fine hand?" His father opened the envelope and scanned the invitation. "Housewarming?"

"Informal. Mostly Rose's family. I thought you and Mum could help me make pizzas."

His father burst out laughing. When Scorpius didn't laugh with him, he stopped. "You're serious."

"Afraid so. Don't tell Grandfather."

Instantly, his father's expression switched from dismay to resolve. "Don't worry, son. Your mother and I will be there for you."

"Thank you." He shook his father's hand and left.

 

Nathaniel Nott was pacing the lobby of the Walpurgis Club when Scorpius arrived.

"They'll dock your pay if you wear a hole in the carpet," Scorpius said.

Nott gave a nervous chuckle and glanced around as if checking for holes. "Good one, Malfoy."

"Call me Scorpius, Nathaniel." Friends used first names.

"Right. We're not at Hogwarts anymore." Nathaniel sighed.

Scorpius nodded toward the club manager bustling toward them. "I believe our table is ready." In short order, they were escorted to a table close to the one he had shared with Grandfather Lucius, served the wine his grandfather arranged to have ready, and had the server inform them that their lunch would also be ready shortly.

"So nice to have left school and make one's own decisions," Scorpius drawled once he and Nott— _Nathaniel_ —were left to enjoy the Chenin Blanc. Nathaniel's braying laugh turned heads. Scorpius said, "A Great Hall filled with Slytherins, isn't it?"

"Yeah." The thought seemed to relax Nathaniel. He took a sip of his wine and then said, "I used to think Goyle laughed a lot because he was a stupid toady, but he isn't stupid at all, and you're funny."

Their server returned with their lunches: elegant dishes of fish pie. Scorpius thanked the server.

Nathaniel grinned. "Even the food's the same!"

Scorpius said dryly, "At least no one will sing, 'Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy, Warty, Hogwarts." He steered the conversation to the Walpurgis Club itself, admiring the architecture and asking about its history. He and Nathaniel chatted their way through lunch. Scorpius declined anything else, but encouraged his friend to try the lemon-curd cakes.

"No poppy seeds," Nathaniel said. Once the server retreated, he confessed, "They make you test positive for illegal substance use."

"Do they test you often?"

"It's random." Nathaniel seemed proud to admit, "You need a high security clearance to be a historian and records keeper."

"What if you want to show a mate round your office?" Scorpius asked. "Do I need a security clearance?"

"You want to see my office?"

"The whole club if you have time to give a tour."

"You're serious?"

That seemed to be the question of the day. Scorpius leaned forward. Once Nathaniel did the same, Scorpius said in a conspiratorial tone, "Can you keep a secret?"

"Of course!"

Scorpius glanced left and right as though making sure no one could overhear and whispered, "Those history of magic lessons everyone complained about being boring? I  _liked_  them." He'd liked the history itself enough to overlook Binns's lecture style.

Nathaniel beamed. "Me too!" He was still shaking his head in amazement as he wolfed down the lemon-curd cakes. The server appeared the moment he was finished to whisk his plate away and inform them that Monsieur Lucius Malfoy had also taken care of the bill. "I'll send him a note of thanks," Nathaniel said as they left the dining hall. "That place is expensive. Sometimes I think I work for food." He led Scorpius into a hazy room filled with old wizards smoking pipes. "Note the busts of Slytherin greats and the statue of the Bloody Baron before his, erm, untimely end."

"Noted."

The tour continued. Ballroom, billiards room, solarium—which had once been a gambling saloon—and library: Nathaniel pointed out the details of interest with the assured manner of a professional guide. He smiled when Scorpius remarked on it. "I have loads of relatives."

Finally, they descended down a winding staircase to the lower levels. It was like visiting the servants' wing of a manor. No money wasted on ornamentation. The corridor narrowed until it ended at their destination. Inside, the Records Room was nothing like the small office jammed with filing cabinets Scorpius had pictured. He stared in awe. "It's a cave of wonders."

"Isn't it? I say, 'Open Sesame' when I open door if no one's around."

They stood on a landing. Another staircase took them down to the floor of the cavernous room filled with shelf after shelf of leather bound records. "How do you find anything?" Scorpius asked.

Nathaniel pointed to the tall row of mahogany filing cabinets acting as a divider between his cluttered workspace and the office head's highly polished desk. The cabinet drawers opened on both sides. "Those are the current files." He gestured to the walls of records. "Only the Head Historian can access the Annals of Greatness."

Scorpius burst out laughing. He couldn't help it. "Annals of  _greatness_?"

Nathaniel snickered. "Once, in an inter-office memo, I spelled it anal." His laughing confession set Scorpius off again, which made Nathaniel laugh harder. "Oh gods, my side hurts. I ate too much. I say, have you always had that dimple on your cheek?"

The urge to laugh died as if struck down by a Killing Curse. "Are you referring to the bifid zygomaticus major muscle that I prefer  _no one_ see or talk about?"

"Y—yes? Not that I'd tell anyone. Ever. It'll be a secret between friends."

Scorpius silently cast a mild Gumminess Spell on his right palm and clapped Nathaniel on the shoulder. "Thank you."

"I'll even give a Wizard's Handshake," Nathaniel said earnestly.

And rub off the hair he'd picked up? "No need." Scorpius asked questions about Nathaniel's duties as a trainee historian and records keeper until the Head Historian returned.

"I was just showing Lucius Malfoy's grandson out," Nathaniel told his boss. In the outer corridor, he said, "Pardon the name dropping. Historian Arcoiris would have lectured me on security protocol otherwise."

"I understand." They retraced their path through the club. Scorpius wrestled with his conscience every step of the way. He had Nathaniel's hair. He didn't need to book the Slytherin bordello room at the Sleazy Kneazle anymore. He no longer had an excuse to throw a party to outshine all parties.

"Today was fun," Nathaniel said when they stood in the lobby.

"Yes, it was." Scorpius decided to act first and ask forgiveness later. He said, "So was our dinner on Saturday, and it's given me an idea."

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Wise Wizard advice column comes from a one shot I wrote called Dear Snarky Severus in which Dumbledore is the Wise Wizard penning advice to his unsuspecting students, and Snape is the reluctant guest columnist, the Sagacious Sorcerer. Rose's joke that Orna's potion would taste worse than Gurdyroots was what Hermione said about taking the potion to become Bellatrix. :)


	24. The Apology

 

Scorpius returned to Malfoy Enterprises. In the lobby, a wizard held a security badge in one hand and a thin golden tube in the other as he frisked the photographer Crispin Pry.

"Oi! Watch where you put that Probity Probe," Crispin said. "If it malfunctions and switches to body cavity mode, I'm going straight to the  _Daily Prophet_."

"If you take pictures, you'll get paid more by the  _Intruder_." Scorpius stepped forward. "I'm glad you could stop by, Crispin." He turned to the security wizard. The name on his tag was Barnaby Goggins. Scorpius recalled that Goggins was the newest security team member, and yet his file had included several mentions of zealous performance of duty. "Mr. Pry is my guest."

Goggins muttered, "Yes, sir," and scuttled away.

Crispin smiled uncertainly. "You told me to come by your office?"

Scorpius had addressed Crispin by his first name to put him at ease, but it seemed to have unsettled him—or maybe he was still nervous about the Probity Probe. "Come on up."

"Sign," said Sendak, who sat guarding access to the Floos. He pointed to a visitor's log on his massive desk.

Crispin hurriedly signed his name and time of arrival. "Never seen a troll outside a text book," he said. "Pleasure to meet you."

Sendak didn't answer. His attention had returned to the entrance door.

"Very constant vigilance, isn't he?" Crispin asked as they strolled from the Floo on the executive floor toward Scorpius's office. "I like him a damn sight better than that security bloke."

"Goggins," Scorpius said. "If you feel he mistreated you, I'd be happy to file a grievance on your behalf." It would be first one ever filed at Malfoy Enterprises.

Crispin replied, "He did almost change me from a bass to a soprano."

"It won't happen again." Scorpius would make an example of Goggins. Security team members would treat employees and visitors with professional courtesy, or they would be sacked.

They passed by the open office door of Mitchell Cole, Head of Property. "Malfoy! A word," Cole called out. He hustled over to the doorway. "Have you made a decision about Iron Mountain Storage? Rosier is offering us a bargain."

"You'll have my decision by the end of the week." Scorpius moved on.

Crispin asked, "Does it feel strange being the boss of a wizard twice your age?"

Scorpius shrugged. "Some of my employees are three times my age."

His personal assistant rose from her desk when he approached. She opened the office doors with stately aplomb. "Your next appointment will arrive in ten minutes, sir."

"Thank you, Mrs. Jamieson." Once she'd closed the doors—nice touch, using both—he sat behind his desk and waited for Crispin to lower himself into a visitor's chair. "I'd offer tea, but time is limited. Are you here to accept my offer of employment?"

"Freelance?"

"Yes. You'd communicate directly with me or my assistant."

Crispin nodded. "I'd appreciate the work. I haven't had much luck selling to the  _Prophet_  lately."

"Then you'll be able to complete two assignments." Scorpius opened a desk drawer and removed the Iron Mountain Storage file. He wrote the address on the back of a photo of the exterior. "I need you to photograph what you find to help me make an informed decision."

Crispin studied the photo. "I should have a report for you by Thursday."

"Excellent. The second assignment is event photography."

"I can do that," Crispin said. "Just tell me when and where."

Scorpius told him.

Crispin didn't seem daunted by the task. "What kind of photographs do you want me to take?"

"Society column."

"Slytherins party in style sort of thing?"

"Heavy on style, no shots of anyone boozing it up."

Crispin gave him a knowing look. "Photographs to reassure a girl's over-protective family?"

Scorpius nodded. "And let the rest of the Wizarding world see what they're missing."

 

The rest of the afternoon passed in a series of meetings, followed by Scorpius asking his Head of Personnel to bring him a grievance form, making Pawsey wait until he filled it out and handed it back, and after Pawsey had slunk away, reclining in his chair, enjoying the moment. Not until Mrs. Jamieson stepped into his office to ask if there was anything else she could do before she left did Scorpius realise that he'd forgotten to ask her advice.

"There is one thing," he said, sitting upright in his chair. "If you had agreed to co-host a party with Mr. Jamieson to promote his agenda in, say, business, and he found a way to complete his agenda without the necessity of throwing a party, but he sent invitations out anyway, without asking if you were still willing to co-host the party—"

"Flowers. Candelight dinner. Bit of grovelling." Mrs. Jamieson smiled. "For Miss Weasley, I suggest you add a new agenda to all the rest. Good evening, Mr. Malfoy."

"Good evening, Mrs. Jamieson."

 

Rose was delivering her parents' invitation after work and staying for tea, so Scorpius had time to prepare. He stopped by the florist's, McGregor's Market, and a Muggle corner shop. The chatty Muggle woman who offered advice as she rang up his purchase was the most helpful. The florist—who would have talked him into a bouquet of fifty red and white roses if her shop assistant hadn't mentioned that they symbolised an apology for cheating on one's partner—was the least. By the time he'd prepared dinner, he was ready to blurt out what he'd done the second Rose walked in the door just to be through with the whole apology thing.

His attitude changed when Rose saw the centrepiece of fifty cinnamon roses on the dining room table. "They're absolutely gorgeous." She took in the china and the crystal sparkling in candlelight and sighed. "How romantic. What's the occasion?" She caught sight of the food on their plates and laughed. "You made Nutella pizza for dinner?"

"The woman who sold me the Nutella reminded me that life is short, and we should eat dessert first." He pulled out her chair. Once they were seated, he barely hesitated before picking up his slice of Nutella pizza with his fingers.

Rose plucked a raspberry off her slice of pizza. "Drizzled with dark chocolate. My other favourite." She licked the chocolate off the raspberry. "You wouldn't be trying to get out of our housewarming party, would you?"

"Hadn't crossed my mind." Next time he would buy strawberries to watch her lips close around the fruit.

She nibbled her way through the slice of dessert pizza. "You're not hungry?"

He'd taken one bite. "I ate a big lunch."

Rose dabbed her lips with a linen serviette. "If you're not trying to postpone the housewarming party indefinitely, why do I have the feeling that you're trying to turn me up sweet?"

He pulled out her chair and smoothed her hair to one side to kiss the nape of her neck. "Because only nice men do nice things for their partners?"

She shivered. "Is that what you're doing? Nice things?"

"I hope you'll think so." He extended his arm. "We're dining al fresco for the main course."

In retrospect, he might have gone overboard on the impulse purchase of enchanted Muggle-style fairy lights at McGregor's Market. "I thought they'd make the space more festive," Scorpius said when Rose stared at the glittering display. "It's a large terrace, requiring a proportionate amount of lights." She was starting to get that  _what are you up to_  look on her face. He gestured to the plates with stasis covers he'd arranged on a low table beside the double lounger. "My first experiment with the barbeque oven. Turned out rather well, considering I used store bought dough. I made pizza Margherita."

Rose sat on the lounger with him, but she didn't reach for a plate. She said, "I adore everything you've done, but if there's something you're waiting to tell me, I'd rather hear it now and get it out of the way."

"All right." He whistled.

Felix bolted through his Niffler door and ran straight to the lounger and jumped onto Rose's lap. "Good boy!" Scorpius said. He told Rose, "The first few times he ran past the lounger and jumped into a planting box."

"What's this on his collar?" She untied the blue ribbon and held up the vial.

The moment of truth, probably better told without food churning in his stomach. "Nathaniel's hair. I saw an opportunity and took it." Rose didn't comment. He said, "You won't have to take a hair from him at the party." He could out wait Harry Potter, but Rose's silence was different. "There doesn't have to be a party now."

"But you still want one."

"Yes. Nathaniel's on the alumni board. He's sending me a list of names. Crispin Pry's handling the photography. I should have talked it over with you first," he said when she started to speak, "but I chose to act and ask forgiveness later."

Rose smiled. "You don't need forgiveness."

"I don't?"

She stroked his cheek with the backs of her fingers. "When you took Nathaniel's hair, did you consider that the housewarming party wasn't necessary anymore?"

"No."

"Then why would you think I'd want you to cancel your party?"

Honestly? "They're Slytherins."

Rose brushed her lips against his. "I love a Slytherin. I really like his parents. I can learn to like a few more."

 

The memory of kisses that led to lovemaking on the terrace and pizza in bed inspired Scorpius to stop by the florist's on the way to work. He bypassed the owner for the shop assistant, who assured him his bright red rose would be delivered to the Ministry right away, and helped him choose an arrangement for Mrs. Jamieson.

"Made up your mind yet?" Cole asked when Scorpius passed his office. He trailed him into the corridor. "Who are those flowers for?"

"New haircut?" Scorpius asked. Cole's head looked more egg-shaped than usual.

Cole said, "Yes. About that property—"

"I'll let you know. The flowers are for personal assistant appreciation day." Scorpius glanced at Cole's assistant's desk. "You must be buying Mrs. Davis lunch." He continued strolling toward his office.

"Dark pink roses in full bloom are a symbol of thanks," Scorpius said as he placed the crystal vase on Mrs. Jamieson's desk. He'd made sure "mature blooms" wasn't a euphemism for about to wither and fall off the stem. He wanted to convey his gratitude, not offend. He added, "I told Cole it was personal assistant appreciation day."

Mrs. Jamieson's eyes gleamed. "Shall I send out a memo to inform the rest of the departments?"

"Why not?" He opened his office door. "And I'm taking you to lunch."

His assistant chose to have lunch in the company dining hall. From their vantage point by the window, Scorpius could see several department heads dining with their personal assistants. Mrs. Jamieson, however, was one of only a few PA's who appeared to be enjoying the food.

"May we join you?" Grandfather Lucius and his PA Mrs. Tacit sat down before Scorpius finished saying, "Please." Servers appeared and poured premier cru Chablis into their glasses: a finer vintage than the grand cru Scorpius had chosen. Grandfather flicked his fingers in dismissal once he and Mrs. Tacit were served the same Nicoise-style lobster salad Mrs. Jamieson had highly recommended. He said, "Appreciation day for one's assistant. How  _innovative._  Rather like these pheasant eggs the chef has chosen for garnish." Grandfather speared one of the shelled, halved eggs with his fork. "If I did not appreciate the change . . . ." He smiled coolly. "Malfoy Enterprises would be acquiring a new chef."

"Yes, sir." Message received and acknowledged.

Scorpius's deferential tone seemed to appease. His Grandfather's expression warmed. "As it happens, I enjoy pheasant eggs. They amuse me." He set down his fork and picked up his wineglass. "Now, what's this I hear about a Slytherin reunion party?"

By the end of lunch, Scorpius had given as few details as possible while confirming his own suspicion that Nathaniel's request for a list of names had directly been relayed to Lucius instead of through the Knights of Walpurgis grapevine. He went to the owlery to inform Zod of his wish to book the Slytherin Room.

Just as he was preparing to leave for the day, Mrs. Jamieson delivered a note from Crispin asking Scorpius to meet at the Gnome and Jarvey as soon as possible. Scorpius headed straight there. He found the photographer hunched over a pint in the back corner booth.

"You're too large to be inconspicuous, if that's what you were going for," Scorpius said as he sat down opposite Crispin. He picked up the Manila envelope Crispin slid across the table after looking around to make sure they were unobserved, presumably. "Relax. You'll draw more attention if you sit there coiled like a spring."

"I can't help it. Those pictures . . . ."

Scorpius looked at the pictures and quickly returned them to the envelope. No wonder Rosier wanted to offload the building without a public sale. "Thank you," he said. He took pay to bearer drafts out of an inner jacket pocket.

"I can't take hush money."

"I'm paying you for your work." Scorpius set the drafts on the table. "After I decide what to do, I'll contact you to write the story."

"I could go to the  _Daily_   _Prophet_  on my own," Crispin said with a hint of threat. He'd been a Hufflepuff Beater. They weren't the best at intimidation.

"I'm guaranteeing a front page exclusive. And twice the pay."

Crispin slowly nodded.

Scorpius said, "I'll be in touch."

 

He stood in the alley where he'd made his deal with Barry Boot and had to clear his mind of everything except the memory of Rose saying, "I love a Slytherin," before he could cast a Patronus Charm.

Rose appeared at the head of the alley moments later. The rose he'd sent was pinned to her Ministry robes over her heart. "You said you needed to see me right away."

"There's something we need to investigate."

"As the Green Knight and Raven?"

"As ourselves." He held out his hand. When her fingers clasped his, he turned to Disapparate.

Rose clutched an arm across her middle when they stepped out of darkness and onto a kerb in East London. "You could have warned me about the Side-Along Apparition."

"Are you all right?"

"I am now. What is this place?"

"An industrial warehouse Rosier industries is trying to sell. It's zoned commercial and residential, but they claim the subsidiary, Iron Mountain Storage, houses archived business records. I asked Crispin to take interior photographs to help me decide whether to take the deal." Scorpius handed her the manila envelope.

She gasped when she saw the first picture. Her cheeks flushed with outrage as she looked through the stack. "How do they afford privatised housing?"

Scorpius pointed to a tall wizard who approached the building. The man had the over-muscular physique of a body builder or security guard to the rich. "Like that."

"Appearance Charm. Of course. It's in the amulet around his neck."

He agreed. "They couldn't get jobs otherwise. Couldn't live in a city filled with Muggles. Let's talk to him."

Rose matched him stride for stride, even as she asked, "What if he doesn't like us asking questions?"

"He'll answer anyway. See the monogram on his robes? He works for Malfoy Enterprises." Scorpius raised his voice. "Sendak!" The troll in disguise waited as they hurried to catch up.

"I'll start," Rose whispered, before greeting Sendak with, "Good evening! I'm a trainee social care advocate with the Magical Beings Department. I'd like to interview you and your family about your current housing. It will only take a few minutes of your time."

"No." Sendak's voice made the Green Knight's deep gruffness seem light and friendly by comparison.

"You can't be happy with it," Rose said.

Sendak appeared even more inexpressive human: no one expected a rock troll's face to show emotion. He took a deep breath and said, "Better than . . . nothing." He started to turn away.

"Rosier is selling this property," Scorpius said. "If I don't buy it, you'll have worse than nothing. A developer will tear the building down, and you'll be relocated to the closest dragon sanctuary that needs workers. Invite us in, answer a few questions, and things will change for the better. You have my word."

Sendak covered the amulet with a large-knuckled hand.

"We don't want the Ministry to take away your Appearance Amulets or your freedom," Rose said. "Won't you help us?"

Sendak said, "Come."

The walls of the lobby were dingy magnolia. "When was the last time your landlord painted?" Rose asked.

Words dragged out of Sendak like blocks of granite cut from a quarry. "Twenty five years."

Some troll children sat with their backs against the closed door to the lift. The rest gathered around in a circle. A hairy tarantula race was in progress. "And how long has that been broken?" Scorpius asked.

"Always."

Scorpius and Rose followed Sendak up the brightly lit stairway. "At least the property manager keeps the lights working," Rose said.

"They'd have a case to sue if he didn't," Scorpius replied.

Sendak grunted his agreement. He led them to a third floor flat and took off his amulet before knocking on the door four times. It opened, and a girl troll a head taller than Scorpius asked a question that sounded like an avalanche of pebbles sliding down a mountain. She looked past Sendak and then said in English, "I asked Dad if it was four knocks for guests or four knocks he forgot the counter rune for the security ward." Her dark eyes twinkled. "It's guests."

" _Nas_?" A low-pitched yet feminine voice called out.

"Yes, it's people, and famous ones," the girl yelled over her shoulder. "Get the camera."

" _Barrabatta_ ," Sendak said. The admonishing paternal tone transcended language barriers.

The girl's answer in troll was the rapid ping of hailstones. She flashed a smile at Scorpius and Rose that displayed large white teeth. "Barrabatta means quick talker. The midwife warned my parents about giving a rock troll child such a name. I've been magically cursed with the gift of gab."

Sendak uttered a rumbly growl.

Barrabatta rolled her eyes and bowed. "I was also cursed with the inability to behave myself. Forgive and enter our humble dwelling."

The flat was painted the same shade of magnolia as the rest of the building interior, although it was cleaner and the walls were decorated with framed photographs of the family and mountain landscapes. Sendak's wife asked, "Tea?" once they'd taken a seat at the oversize wooden table that engulfed half of the living/dining space.

"That would be lovely," Rose said.

"Means  _yes,_ Mum _._ " Barrabatta grinned at Rose. "Nas voices are birdsong to her. Cheep, cheep, cheep."

Rose asked, "Have you considered being a Ministry translator?"

Barrabatta seemed taken with the idea. Sendak directed his rumbly growl at his guests. "Ask questions."

"It's more of a proposition," Scorpius said. Rose didn't need to ask if the housing was substandard, or if the trolls living there felt their quality of life would improve with new management. "I want to buy this property, fix the lift, and refurbish your flat as an example of what Malfoy Enterprises plans to do to the rest of the units. A photographer will interview your family and take before and after pictures."

"For the  _Daily Prophet_?" Barrabatta asked. She broke into a spate of rapid fire troll, ending with, "Then I will be famous too!"

Sendak's wife set a mug the size of Felix on the table between Scorpius and Rose. "Share?"

He spoke as deeply as possible. "Thank you, ma'am."

Understanding lit the troll mother's face. "Eke," she said, pointing to herself before settling into the chair beside her husband.

"Why?" Sendak asked Scorpius.

Why buy the building and refurbish the units? He didn't blame the troll for asking. He was a Malfoy. Until he'd spoken with the bank manager, every time he donated to charity a Gringott's fraud alert team member sent an owl to verify that the pay to bearer notes weren't stolen. "I'm the new Head of Operations," Scorpius said. "I'm creating a new public image."

Barrabatta translated for her mother.

Sendak said, "Re . . . furbish  _tomorrow_."

It wasn't a question. "Tomorrow," Scorpius agreed. He planned to own the building the next day, why wait to start fixing it up? Crispin could interview the family on Friday, and by Saturday, the story would be headline news.

" _Tomorrow?_ " Rose asked. He could tell that she'd created the same timeline in her head. "Two days from our family dinner tomorrow?"

Scorpius smiled wryly. "At least we're giving them something to talk about."


	25. Going Spare

 

Before they left, Rose pulled out a notebook and quill and asked for a tour of the flat. Barrabatta happily translated as she and her mother went from room to room, pointing out all things that needed fixing or refurbishment. Scorpius remained at the table, sipping tea out of the Niffler-sized mug. He pretended that the silence was restful. The urge to talk about anything—the weather, the upcoming Quidditch season, why Sendak chose to live in London instead of a troll mountain village—was hard to resist. But he did. A meaningful silence was always better than meaningless words. It took strength to sit in silence. Scorpius checked his watch. Only five minutes had passed. He glanced at Sendak.

The troll said, "Cannons. Why can't win?"

Sendak followed Quidditch! Scorpius smiled. "Some say they doomed themselves when the club changed its motto from 'We shall conquer' to 'Let's just all keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best'." The blank look in the troll's eyes told Scorpius that he was talking too fast for comprehension. He paused, and then said, "Skinflint owners. Poor management."

"Like here," Sendak said.

"Yes. But at least this building has the chance to change."

"Unless . . . you buy Cannons."

Scorpius laughed. "That would be a waste of Galleons. And I dislike those orange robes." A thought struck. "This building will need a change of name. What should we call it? Iron Mountain, Flats at Iron Mountain, any preference?"

Sendak didn't speak for a few minutes, and then he said, "Iron Mountain . . . Villas."

 

Hours later, when he and Rose were propped up on pillows in bed, making to-do lists, he told her the building's new name. "It could be worse," she said. "It could be The Chalets at Iron Mountain, with the lobby decorated like a ski lodge."

"The lobby does need redecoration," Scorpius said.

"Not a lodge theme. Trolls don't ski."

"Murals," Scorpius said. "Crispin can use Sendak's mountain photographs to create murals to hang in the lobby." A seating area would keep the children from using the lift doors as a back rest. He drew a rough sketch. The time he and his mother had made a secret trip to a Muggle playground, he'd been impressed with the recoil of the paver tiles. Those could serve as a rug to soften the concrete floor. The hairy tarantulas would race in comfort.

"Who's that?" Rose pointed to the drawing of small boy turning a somersault in the air.

"Me." He told her about the trip to the Muggle playground. "I didn't realise magic was making me bounce, not the rubbery pavers."

Rose giggled. "I bet you were so cute."

He said, "I admit, the drawing doesn't do me justice."

Rose's giggles cut off. "There's an actual photograph? I want to see it! Owl your mum and tell her to bring it with her on Saturday."

"No. I'm not listening to your family make 'son of a bouncing ferret' jokes. Not with my dad around." The harshness of his tone startled him. "I'm sorry," he said. "I heard the story from Grandfather. He told me not to make professors angry, or I'd end up a second generation laughingstock."

Rose said, "My father laughed at yours. Yours laughed at mine. I think school rivalry kept their minds off Voldemort's return."

Scorpius considered her theory. "No. They hated each other."

"OK. They did. But they don't now. People change." Rose used her quill to draw a heart around the bouncing boy. "If your mum brings the picture, I promise not to let anyone else see it."

But she'd see it.

Rose asked, "Don't you trust me?"

"That isn't it." He had to tell her. Scorpius forced the words out. "I'm not sure I want you to see what I looked like when I was four."

"Why? You had to be the most adorable little boy ever." Rose playfully tugged a strand of his hair. "I can tell from the drawing that this was long. Is that it? You think I'll laugh if you had mini-Lucius hair?"

"You'll be laughing for another reason. I left the worst part out of the drawing." He lowered his quill to parchment and made the necessary adjustments.

Rose didn't laugh. She tossed his notes onto the floor so she could straddle him and press kisses all over his face. "If you don't owl your mum, I'm going to do it. Tell me you'll do it. Oh, gods, you had  _curls."_ She devoured his mouth.

"Tomorrow," he said when she let him come up for air. "First thing."

 

Scorpius awoke to the sound of Felix whimpering. He sat up. Felix stood in front of the Niffler door, staring through the glass. Scorpius got out of bed. Something on the terrace frightened his pet, and he had a sinking feeling that he knew what it was.

Owls from Rose's family, accepting their housewarming invitations.

Once he'd gathered all the letters and sent the owls away with treats, Scorpius gave a short "all clear" whistle. Felix scampered out to do his morning business in the furthest planting box. Scorpius delivered the pile of letters to Rose, who was sitting up in bed, stretching. She said, "The alarm just went off."

He sat on the bed and handed her half the pile.

Rose opened an envelope. "Roxanne's bringing stuffed mushrooms."

An odd thing to do. He read a note from Albus. "Merry hasn't decided what kind of trifle she's bringing, but put her down for trifle." Two acceptances, two stated intentions to bring food: the trend was disturbing.

Rose said, "Aunt Ginny, which really means Kreacher, is making a kale salad."

Scorpius opened another envelope. "George and Angelina will pick up an antipasti platter." He frowned. Were they trying to avoid eating food prepared by Malfoys?

"My aunt and uncle haven't attended a family dinner together in ages," Rose said, all smiles. "I hope this means the couples therapy is working." She noticed his expression. "What's wrong?"

He said, "I remember the acronym BYOB from Muggle Studies, but nowhere on our invitation was a request for guests to bring their own food."

"It's a family thing. Everyone brings a dish so no one has to spend a whole day cooking." Rose's tone softened. "The times we went to the Burrow, did you think Granny Molly had conjured all the food herself?"

"Yes."

"You aren't . . .offended . . .are you?"

Scorpius shook his head.

Rose said, "I suppose Slytherins don't bring a dish to family dinners."

He smirked at the thought of how aghast his Greengrass relatives would be if his mother brought a cake to a Christmas party. "Not the ones I know. They value appearances too much." Grandmother Narcissa, who used to share family stories instead of reading Wizard Tales, told him that after her parents hosted a dinner party, she and her sisters would have to eat porridge for breakfast for a full month. And there would be no sugar for tea or butter on their cucumber sandwiches, much less sweets.

"I'll make a list of what they're bringing so you can send it to your mother," Rose said.

He read Fleur's note that she and Bill would bring bottles of sparkling wine from her family's vineyard in Montlouis. "Along with my request for the playground photo?"

"Unless you'd like me to send the owl." Rose started to open a letter and then stopped.

"Is that from Lupin? Are you worried that he's bringing a poison-detecting ring?"

Rose leaned toward Scorpius and traced his upper lip with a fingertip. "No, rock star, I was wondering if we should buy an owl together." She smiled a little. "It's the next step of a relationship after getting a pet."

He had to admit it was inconvenient, at times, sending owls from work or waiting until his parents sent Bubo with a letter to ask something in his reply. "Not a big one that would scare Felix."

"Of course. We want him to feel safe." Rose kissed him and asked, "When do you want to go shopping?"

He had meetings to reschedule, property and furnishings to buy, contractors to hire, and work to supervise. What was one more item on his agenda? "Are you free for lunch?"

 

They met at noon in front of Eeylops Owl Emporium. There were a few other customers in the small, dimly lit shop. Scorpius didn't feel quite as conspicuous as he would have if no one else strolled between the magnificent cages looking for just the right owl. He updated Rose on the progress he'd made: property bought with Grandfather's approval, elf-run Lift Repair Company on the job, painting crew at work, furnishings set to be delivered within the next two hours. "Barrabatta chose bubblegum pink for her room colour."

"Can we trade jobs for the rest of the afternoon? I'm stuck in House-elf sensitivity training. Don't ever compliment an elf's ears, by the way. It's like complimenting a witch or wizard for being well-endowed." Rose halted in front of a tall gilded cage. "Snowy owls are beautiful."

Scorpius glanced down at the scar on the tip of his right index finger. He didn't want another Maleficus. "Too big."

"We could get a Scops like Pigwidgeon. Magic extends the owl lifespan up to three times the normal length. Pig is old now, but he still makes local deliveries."

Scops owls were small. Mainly insectivorous. No worries of Felix being carried off. "I'd like something different."

"A species of owl owned by no one else in our families?"

He raised a brow. "Sure you haven't been taking partner sensitivity training?"

Rose gave him a cheeky grin. "I'm self-taught."

"And brilliant." He looked around the shop. "What are you sensing right now?"

She took his hand. "That you have a specific owl in mind." Her fingers squeezed his gently. "I want to buy an owl with you. I don't have any preferences about species, although I admit I like small and cuddly ones best. Large ones intimidate me."

"Me too." They shared a smile.

A wizard with a feathery moustache resembling a Whiskered Screech Owl's approached them and asked if he might be of service. Scorpius asked if the Emporium had any burrowing owls.

"One," said the wizard. "After the article about that Creevey fellow came out in the  _Prophet_  last year, we had several enquiries. I'd hoped it might start a new trend." He led them to a back room. "But as you can see, the habitat takes up much more space than a cage, and the permanent spell work required unfortunately adds significantly to the cost."

The habitat resembled a square planting box over a metre tall, filled with grass. The high canopy attached to the box was enchanted to resemble what Scorpius presumed was a South American sky. The air within the confines of the box shimmered faintly. "Temperature Regulation Charm?" Scorpius asked.

"To approximate the climate of the lowlands of Brazil," the wizard said. "Along with top notch  _Fide_ spells to ensure the owl bonds to his owners and never leaves his habitat unless directed."

The owl popped out of his underground burrow.

"He's got white eyebrows," Rose said. "I love him."

"The supercilium plumage feature does look like eyebrows," the wizard said. "And you're correct about the sex of the owl. Males are a lighter sandy colour in their upperparts and spend more time above ground during the day."

Scorpius watched the owl hop onto a rock. He couldn't be more than twenty centimetres in height. Not a practical size for carrying post. Dennis Creevey hadn't cared about that. Neither did Scorpius. He, too, wanted an owl that was curious and always shifting poses, alert and exploring. An owl that reminded him of his hero: an owl that could be a companion and friend.

"There's room on the terrace," Rose said.

The wizard beamed. "An ideal location."

The tiny owl bent his neck at a comical angle and stared at them with inquisitive yellow eyes. Scorpius turned to Rose. "We need to choose a name."

"Antares is the most brilliant star in the Scorpius constellation."

A fact he would never repeat around Felix. Scorpius told the wizard, "I want Antares and his habitat delivered this evening."

The wizard appeared ready to cry in happiness. "I'll ring up the sale."

 

Scorpius and Rose dropped by Iron Mountain Villas after work to see the redecorated lobby and take the lift to Sendak's flat. Scorpius knocked on the door four times. Barrabatta grinned as she let them in. "Mum couldn't hear you. She didn't hear Crispy either. She says wizards have baby hands. Come in! See my room. Everything else is soft earth tones. Looks good in Crispy's pictures, but my room has the most colour!"

Yes, it did. Scorpius had not known that so many shades of pink existed. Even the faux crystals of the chandelier resembled pink amethyst. He complimented her on the choice of wallpaper. The black and white pattern with roses looked striking on the wall behind the bed.

"Pink roses for my friend Rose," Barrabatta said. She picked up a paperweight off her desk. "And a scorpion for my friend Scorpius." A golden scorpion hung suspended inside the Lucite block. "It glows in the dark."

The way she held the paperweight, grinning, with the rose wallpaper in the background would make a striking photographic image. Scorpius asked, "When did Crispin leave?"

"Hour. Maybe more. Crispy had to send pictures to the  _Daily Prophet_."

"Why do you call him Crispy?" Rose asked.

Barrabatta shrugged. "He smelled like cheese and onion crisps."

Scorpius told Rose, "We need to approve the photographs Crispin sends to the  _Prophet_. Can you send your Patronus?"

She nodded. "But he's a professional. We should trust his judgment."

"It isn't his artistic judgment I'm concerned about," Scorpius said. "Do you need a few minutes alone?"

"Unless you know an Instant Happiness Charm."

Barrabatta followed him out of the room. She asked, "Why not send your Patronus?"

"It's a secret."

They returned to the lounge and sat in chairs across from each other. Barrabatta asked, "What's a Patronus?"

Scorpius had just finished explaining when Rose walked into the lounge. "Crispin delivered the article and the best photographs to the editor a half hour ago. He said Malfoy Enterprises will look great, no worries."

Barrabatta grinned. "And I will look great too!"

There was nothing for Scorpius to say except, "Great."

 

His parents, Stevens, and Mrs. Stevens were supervising the instalment of the owl habitat on the terrace when he and Rose arrived home.

"You didn't tell me they were coming over," Rose said. She hastily tucked in the hem of her blouse and slipped on her shoes.

"It slipped my mind." Like a lot of other things. How could he have overlooked requiring final approval of photographs? He said, "Why don't you take a bath and relax? I'll go watch Antares settle in."

"He's my owl too. I want him to bond to both of us."

The sharpness of her tone matched the way Scorpius felt inside. He said, "I could use a moment of bonding with you."

Rose wrapped her arms around him. "Non-Slytherins call this a hug. Experts say we have to do it for thirty seconds to de-stress."

He held her close and then closer. The seconds passed too quickly. He said, "If we shower together, we can conserve water."

"Conservation is important." Rose stood on her tiptoes to peer over his shoulder. "No one's noticed us. Let's go!"

 

When they stepped out of the bedroom doors to the terrace, Scorpius's stress levels had lowered to the point of drowsiness. He smiled to see that his parents had turned the lounger so they could lay on it and watch the burrowing owl in his habitat instead of the city lights.

Rose said, "Thank you for taking care of Antares for us."

His parents rose to greet them. "It took all the willpower I had not to stroke his feathers," his mother said. "And I am not an owl person."

"Antares, is it? He's an amusing little fellow." His father chuckled. "I can't wait to tell your grandfather his name."

"Are Mr. and Mrs. Stevens with you?" Rose asked.

Scorpius admired how neatly she'd avoided saying that she'd seen them earlier. He said, "If they're doing the marketing, I hope you told them to bring back takeaway for dinner."

"We did," his father said.

His mother said, "The sooner you two pet this darling owl, the sooner I get a turn."

Scorpius took Rose's hand. Together, they went to meet their owl.

 

An odd sound woke Scorpius early the next morning. It was like the flapping of wings, if birds were made of paper. He opened his eyes to see a magical red envelope hovering above the bed. It must have entered through the Niffler door. "Rose, love, you need to wake up," he said. It was her name on the envelope. Only she could open it.

"Did the alarm go off?" she asked sleepily.

"No," he said. "Lily sent a Howler."

" _What?_ " She rolled onto her back. The red envelope dove toward her face. Rose grabbed it. "Ow, it's hot!" She ripped open the envelope. Lily's voice came screeching out.

" _I COULD HEX YOU RIGHT NOW, COUSIN! IT'S BAD ENOUGH THAT I'M IMPRISONED IN A BORING CASTLE DOING BORING SCHOOLWORK FOR BORING PROFESSORS. NOW I'M STUCK HERE WHILE YOU THROW A FAMILY PARTY AT YOUR POSH NEW FLAT! AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN TELL ME ABOUT IT! I HAD TO HEAR ABOUT IT FROM DOMINIQUE! SHE WAS POSITIVELY GLOATING!_

A pause, and then:

_"You deserve this, Rosie."_

"Felix, come!" Scorpius said the instant he heard Lily's voice lower to a volume of steely retribution. Before she'd finished saying "deserve," Felix had jumped onto the bed. Scorpius threw covers over his pet and said, "Stay!"

The Howler exploded into a cloud of sandy powder flecked with specks of red. Wherever the powder landed itched like fire.

"Don't rub it!" Rose said. "You'll make the itching last longer! Uncle George uses rose-hip hairs in his itching powder." She cast a Vanishing Spell to clear away the powder, but his urge to scratch remained.

He jumped out of bed. "Cold shower. It will close our pores."

They stood beneath the rain shower set on Polar Plunge, teeth chattering.

Scorpius said, "I n-never thought I'd want your nails raking my skin in a n-non-sexual way."

Rose said, "I want to r-rub against you so badly." She stamped her foot. "Li-lily is off my favourite cousins list!"

The itching was starting to subside. He said, "You're her favourite cousin. That's why she did this."

"I know. I'll owl and tell her I'm sorry." Rose scratched her arm.

He asked, "Did that make the itching worse?"

"No," Rose said happily.

Scorpius adjusted the water temperature to Caribbean. "You scratch and I'll rub."

 

When they returned to the bedroom, Rose said, "Felix! He's probably gasping for air." She pulled off the covers and patted the Niffler's sleek fur. "Poor sweetie."

After rolling onto his back for a tummy rub, Felix hopped off the bed and scampered out the Niffler door. He immediately raced back inside.

Not good. Scorpius opened the door to the terrace. To his surprise, only one owl perched on the dining table. Maleficus stared toward the owl habitat. Antares was peeking out of his burrow, with only his eyebrows and eyes visible through the grass. Maleficus accepted a treat and made a show of launching into flight. Scorpius gave Antares a couple of rehydrated caterpillars and opened the packet from his grandfather. There was a note and a folded section of the  _Daily Prophet_. He read the note as he went back inside.

_My dear boy, this is not how I expected you to grace the front page. I am exceedingly amused._

"Oh, shit," Rose said when she read the note. "I'm afraid to look."

So was he. "Together, then?"

The headline wasn't too bad.

**Malfoy Enterprises Coming Up Roses**

The lead photograph of Barrabatta in her remodelled room was every bit as stunning as Scorpius had feared. A "before" picture made his jaw drop. He and Rose sat on the sofa, listening to Barrabatta. "Who took that?"

"Eke, I'm sure. She's the one who took all the mountain photos."

Scorpius skimmed the article. "Good deeds are good business. Glad that's emphasised. Your social care advocacy is mentioned. You're referred to as my consultant."

"Not partner?"

"It's heavily implied." He tapped the headline.

Rose groaned. "My dad will go spare."

"Let's ward the Niffler door against Howlers."

The wards weren't necessary. No more owls came. Scorpius and Rose kept checking, just in case.

 

His parents and Mrs. Stevens arrived mid-afternoon. Grandfather Lucius required Stevens to serve at the Manor until he and Grandmother Narcissa left to attend a dinner party that evening. Mrs. Stevens headed for the kitchen. Scorpius's mother kissed their cheeks. "Saw the news article. So proud. How is my grand-owl settling in?"

"Fine," Scorpius said.

"We stopped by the Emporium." His mother took a realistic-looking grasshopper out of her purse. "When you poke it, it hops." She and Rose went to the terrace to watch Antares hunt his new toy.

"It's indestructible," his father told him. "He won't tear a piece off and choke."

"I wasn't worried," Scorpius lied.

"Of course not." His father took a rectangular block of wood out of his pocket. "I brought you a housewarming gift." He waved his wand. The block of wood transformed into a white dining table: The table from their private quarters at the Manor. "We never used the Expansion Charm. It should come in handy today. There are so very, very, many Weasleys."

Not to mention the Potters and Scamanders. "We'll sit at the end near the barbeque," Scorpius said.

His father looked relieved, and then his expression clouded. "Any, er, family reaction to the  _Prophet_  article?"

Scorpius shook his head.

"Keep your wand close." His father chuckled a little, as if he hadn't meant to say the words aloud. He patted Scorpius on the arm. "I'll keep mine close too."

"Thanks."

Mrs. Stevens announced that it was time for lunch.

 

Guests were invited for drinks at seven with dinner at eight. The doorbell rang at 6:30. Scorpius's parents and Rose were on the terrace. Scorpius answered the door expecting to see Rose's father.

The visitor was Harry Potter.

"Ginny thinks I'm at the corner market getting pumpkin seeds to garnish the salad," Potter said. "I stopped by to have a quick word. Out here, preferably."

Scorpius stepped into the outer foyer and shut the door.

Potter said, "Either you're brilliant, or you're mad."

 


	26. Family Dinner

 

"I vote brilliant," Scorpius said. "If you're referring to the  _Prophet_  article, not my mental state hosting this party."

Potter chuckled. "Maybe I'm the one cracking up for thinking that's funny." His expression became serious. "The Weasleys can be overwhelming, but I'm here to discuss the article."

"Good deeds are good business.”

"I understand the PR angle. Why was Rose involved?"

He had to ask? "Because she's my partner." Potter's don't-be-thick look triggered defensiveness. "I didn't know that picture was taken, all right? I allowed Crispin to send the photographs without inspecting them first. It was an oversight that won't happen again."

"How will that photo affect your access to the Walpurgis Club?"

"It won't. Grandfather was exceedingly amused."

Potter shook his head. "Ron's reaction was the exact opposite."

The thought of which had no doubt added to Lucius Malfoy's amusement. Scorpius said, "I'm doing what I can to show that I'm Slytherin to the core despite my . . . independent ways."

"And are you?"

"Slytherin to the core?" Scorpius smiled thinly. "Does it matter as long as you get the information you want?"

"I suppose not." Potter's answering smile was wry. "Although it might reassure Rose's father if you said you weren't."

Scorpius doubted that very much. He said, "The corner market has pumpkin seeds if you don't have time to go to McGregor's."

Potter checked his watch. "Thanks. If I'm not home soon Ginny will track me down." He'd barely finished speaking when a silvery horse Patronus charged through the wall. It tossed its head, front hooves pawing at the air.

Scorpius said, "The corner market is Muggle. I suggest buying Nutella."

 

Rose giggled when she heard his advice. "I wonder if he did it."

"Don't expect me to find out," Scorpius replied. They were standing in the walk-in wardrobe. He'd asked Rose to choose a fresh shirt for him. He took off his t-shirt. "I intend to avoid your Uncle Harry as much as possible."

"Because of your father?"

It felt like more than his torso was laid bare. "Yes."

Rose hugged him.

He said, "I think you need a fresh shirt too."

Her eyes laughed. "I'm wearing a dress that only looks like a separate shirt and skirt."

"I know." He tugged the hem. She lifted her arms so he could pull the dress up and off. Skin on skin made the next hug even better. Scorpius was about to suggest that she change into a sundress that didn't require a bra when he heard the sound of a throat clearing. Stevens's voice came through the wardrobe doors. "Your guests are arriving, Master Scorpius."

"Thank you. We'll be right out." He didn't move.

Rose's arms tightened around him. "You can do this," she said. "I'll be with you."

That's what the party was for, to show her family that Rose was with him, and they were good together. He smiled and asked if she'd like their outfits to coordinate. She picked out the blue-grey sundress with black embroidery that Hugo had called "skimpy" when she'd worn it on their first visit to the Burrow. "My favourite," Scorpius said.

She reached for a blue-grey silk dress shirt. "I think we should be the perfect match."

 

Their parents stood in the foyer chatting about Antares. Both couples were dressed in semi-formal attire, suits and ties for the men, cocktail dresses for the women. Scorpius glanced down at his dark jeans. Should he change into black trousers?

Ron Weasley had a worried look on his face. He said, "Buying an owl together, Rosie? That's a big commitment."

Rose kissed her father's cheek. "Come see him. He'll remind you of Pig."

A bell chimed. Stevens opened the door to Rose's grandparents. Arthur Weasley held out his hand, "Hello, I'm Arthur, also known as Granddad Weasley, pleased to meet you. Are you Granddad Greengrass?"

"No, Mr. Weasley. I'm Stevens. A pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Rose rushed over. "Granny! Granddad!" She kissed their cheeks and said, "You have perfect timing. We were just going out on the terrace to look at our new owl."

Arthur asked, "What species?"

Molly Weasley frowned when Stevens said, "If I may, madam," and held out his hands to take the dish she carried.

"I know you from somewhere. What's your full name?" she demanded.

"Quentin Stevens, madam."

Molly laughed girlishly. "Cheeky little madam is what you called me at school. Didn't like me acting the third wheel on Hogsmeade Weekends, did you?" She turned to Arthur. "Don't you recognise him? It's  _Q_  without the long hair."

Arthur beamed. "Of  _Q and A_  fame!"

"Is Amelia with you?" Molly asked.

Stevens said, "Mrs. Stevens is in the kitchen."

"Point the way," Molly said. "My old friend and I have some catching up to do."

Arthur chuckled as wife bustled off. "Q and A. My word. The stories I could tell."

"As could I," Stevens murmured.

Ron asked his father, "What are you going on about? This is the first time I've heard talk of any  _stories."_

"Ahem, yes, well, that's because I've forgotten them." Arthur turned to Rose. "Let's go see that owl."

Scorpius was happy to let Rose lead the others to the terrace. He and Stevens remained in the foyer to welcome the next guests. Scorpius tried to imagine the unflappable major-domo as a seventh-year with long hair who called Molly Weasley a cheeky little madam. He said, "Third wheel?"

Stevens's gaze flickered toward the kitchen when a burst of laughter rang out. "And a squeaky one."

The door chimed twice. Albus, Merry, Roxanne, Fred, Louis, Dominique, James, Victoire and Lupin filed in. They were all dressed in attire that suggested they were going clubbing later. Dominique kept scratching her arm. She must not have taken a cold shower.

"I feel like one of those dwarves in  _The Hobbit_ ," Albus said.

"But more welcome," Scorpius replied.

"Does that apply to all of us?" Lupin asked.

"Of course . . . Ted." The startled look on Lupin's face was worth the effort to say his name without curling a lip. "Stevens will show you to the terrace. There's a table for the food," he added when Merry held up her trifle.

"You have a butler. I can't wait to tell Lily," Dominique said as she followed the others. She scratched the back of her hand.

Scorpius refrained from advising that she not send Lily another gloating letter. She deserved whatever she got.

Rose's aunts and uncles arrived in pairs: Fleur and Bill, George and Angelina, Percy and Audrey, Luna and Rolf, and finally Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny. They all wore dress robes except for Angelina, who wore a long caftan in a bold geometric print. Scorpius welcomed them and asked Stevens to slide the glass panels into the wall pockets to open the lounge to the terrace. When Granny and Granddad Granger arrived, Scorpius joined Rose and the others watching his mother and father make pizza.

"Anything I can do?" he asked.

His father wiped a speck of flour off his green and white striped apron. He had removed his jacket and tie. "A lager would be splendid."

George Weasley, who was holding hands with his wife, lifted his free hand to his mouth and shouted, "Oi, Fred, toss Draco a bottle of lager!"

At the drinks station near the French doors leading to the master bedroom, Fred hollered back, "Which kind?"

"One in a green bottle!"

Fred laughed and used a spell to send the lager zooming over.

Roxanne yelled, "Wanker! You almost hit me in the head!"

Angelina Weasley said dryly, "We're such a quiet, reserved family."

"But you love us anyway," George said in a tone that was more question than joke.

"Yes, I do," Angelina replied softly.

George pulled her toward the lounge. "Tour," he said. "Women always want to tour other people's houses. Let's go."

"By all means," Scorpius said.

Rose grabbed his hand and squeezed it with her joyful python grip.

" _Tour_?" Merry said. "I want to take a tour!"

"Better if they're self-guided," George said. "Albus, mate, start yours that way." He pointed to the French doors at the end of the terrace and dragged Angelina into the lounge.

As the younger crowd snickered and older couples grinned, Luna Scamander sighed. "Love without measure is man's greatest pleasure."

Scorpius's mother said, "From  _Night of the Nargles_."

"You've read my book?" Luna asked breathlessly. "It's always lovely to meet a fan, especially one who makes throwing pizza dough look like modern dance. I'm Luna."

"Astoria." The women shook hands.

Scorpius's father cast Cleaning Charms. "Can't have L.L. Scamander's prose getting floury."

Luna turned to her brawny husband. "Draco Malfoy made a pun."

Rolf said, "It was very punny."

Luna smiled dreamily. "I'm so glad we didn't decline the invitation like I'd planned."

The day turned surreal. Everyone mingled and chatted and then piled their plates and sat at the table that stretched from one end of the terrace to the other. Scorpius's parents and the Scamanders sat at one end, discussing the couple's  _Believer_ series. At the other, Stevens and Mrs. Stevens—Q and A to Molly and Arthur—chatted about old times. At least the women and Arthur chatted. Stevens nodded from time to time. He glanced toward Scorpius, and his commiserating look brought up a memory.

 

_He hated Grandmother Narcissa's tea parties. Not because the pure-blooded ladies she invited pretended to coo and fuss over him while staring with their cold fish eyes. Not because she piled his plate with so many sweets that he ended up with a stomach ache. Not even because she made him wear green velvet dress robes. Scorpius hated Grandmother Narcissa's tea parties because she made him sing._

_When he turned six, Scorpius declared that he was too old to sing for old ladies. The women gasped. Grandmother Narcissa clutched a hand to her heart. "Old ladies?"_

_Scorpius ran out of the drawing room._

_Stevens found him sitting on the front steps. The major-domo sat beside him. "That was ill-mannered of you, Master Scorpius."_

" _I know." He pressed his lips together. "Do you think less of me?"_

" _Of course not." Stevens gave him a sympathetic look. "But sometimes we have to do things for the ones we love, not because they're pleasant, or because there's nothing else we'd rather do, but because it makes them happy, and it shows we love them."_

"What are you humming?" Rose asked.

Scorpius watched Stevens cough to hide a smile and said, "Just a song." He turned toward her and for an instant his gaze met Harry Potter's. Like Stevens, Potter was a Legilimens. Green eyes widened. He had seen the end of the memory: Stevens playing the piano and singing with Scorpius:

_For he himself has said it,_

_And it's greatly to his credit,_

_That he is a Slytherin!_

 

Fairy lights brightened as the sun set. Merry had the idea of removing the table and chairs and dancing on the terrace instead of at a club. Fred played DJ and spun the Orpheus Orbs. Scorpius allowed Rose's father to cut in on  _I Believe in Nargles_ and went to check on Felix. The Niffler was asleep in his hammock. A faint tapping sound drew him over to the wardrobe. He opened the double doors.

Lupin had shoved clothing to one side. " _Aparecium!_ "

Scorpius asked, "Have you completely lost your mind?"

Lupin froze, and then he exhaled heavily. "The other three loos were occupied, and when I walked by here, I thought, 'What if the Green Knight costume's hidden in a compartment sealed with Anti-Summoning Charms?' Using a Revealing Charm seemed like a brilliant thing to do at the time."

"Instead of an illegal search guaranteed to render any evidence inadmissible in court." Scorpius flicked his wand to restore the closet to perfect order.

"Yeah," Lupin said wryly. "I suppose you can't wait to tell Harry."

"That depends."

Lupin said, "I promise not to cast any more spells in your home."

"Thank you."

"I still think you were the one playing dress up. I can't prove it, but I know it in my gut."

Not because Scorpius had the most extensive Creevey Wizard Comic collection in the wizarding world and the Galleons to commission an exorbitantly expensive costume? All that was incidental compared to Lupin's  _gut_? "Explain."

"It's a vibe I get when I'm talking to suspects. They know I'm onto them and they're trying to hide it through stonewalling or antagonism."

Scorpius shook his head. "My antagonism, as you call it, is based on something else entirely."

Lupin's eyes turned black. "Because my father was a werewolf?"

"Because of Rose."

"Yeah, right."

Scorpius smiled thinly.

"You're serious."

"Is your gut telling you that?"

Lupin made a face. "Yeah, and that's messed up. I'd never—"

"Tell Rose that I'm not her type when you'd barely met me? Why did you say that?"

"I don't remember."

The uneasiness in the other man's voice and the eye colour change to brown provoked Scorpius to strike. "I suppose you don't remember kissing her last New Year's Eve, either, although if I kissed a girl so badly that it killed her crush I'd probably want to forget it too."

"Rosie didn't have a crush."

Lupin's protest lacked conviction. Scorpius said, "Did it make you feel less like a dog in the manger, telling yourself you were being protective instead of jealous that you weren't the centre of attention anymore?"

"Dog in the—what does that even mean?"

"Aesop's Fables? Dog in the manger bites the ox reaching for hay? It means you don't want something, but you don't want anyone else to have it."

"I want someone else to have it! I'm not a dog!"

"Then stop biting me because I can't live without hay."

Lupin dragged a hand through his hair. "Now I'm messed up. That made sense."

Stevens's voice was heard. "Yes, miss, may I help you?"

" _Sonorous_  Charm," Scorpius said. "He's warning us that your fiancée is looking for you."

He took a clothes hanger off the wood bar and said, "Italian. Guaranteed to keep your dress robes wrinkle free. Take it with you. I insist."

_"Teddy?"_ Victoire's tone was one of laughing disbelief.

Scorpius said, "Ted asked for wardrobe organisation tips. I take it he's the unorganised one in the relationship?"

"He's a hot mess," Victoire said. "Hot, hot, hot." She had a tipsy enough to start saying embarrassing things smile on her face. Her skin glowed faintly.

Lupin snatched the clothes hanger out of Scorpius's hand. "Thank you, darling. Scorpius, nice party."

"De-lightful," Victoire said.

Stevens allowed the couple to show themselves out. He shut the wardrobe doors and said quietly, "There are worse things to compare oneself to than an ox."

"How reassuring." Scorpius caught the twinkle in Stevens's eye and asked, "Something else you'd like to say?"

"I wouldn't presume."

"Go ahead."

Stevens said, "I advise you to make hay while the sun shines."

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The party's not over yet! After taking so long to arrive, it wouldn't be fair not to linger. ;) I had the funniest mental images pop into my head this chapter. There's a scene in Addams Family Values where Wednesday is forcing herself to smile and her lips do this wobbly thing, and I could imagine Scorpius's doing that as he forced himself to say "Ted" without curling his lip. I think the chat in the wardrobe cleared the air between the two: at least until Scorpius makes Teddy suspicious again. The song He is a Slytherin was taken from the Gilbert and Sullivan song He is an Englishman from the operetta H.M.S. Pinafore (If anyone's ever seen Chariots of Fire, the Slytherin-like runner Abrahams sings it, and Gilbert, who wrote the libretto to the operetta, was also a very snarky Slytherin type).


	27. Party On

 

Scorpius lingered in the bedroom when Stevens left to serve the guests. The sound of Lupin rummaging through the wardrobe had distracted him from noticing something earlier. Mini- Crookshanks was missing. The toy Kneazle had lounged on the bed before the party. Where was he now? Scorpius flicked his wand. " _Accio Mini-Crookshanks!"_ The toy floated out from under the bed. He fluffed the orange fur and placed Mini-Crookshanks next to the pillows. Felix hopped down from his hammock and came over to snuggle against the toy. "There," Scorpius said. "No one will hide you away again." He petted Felix and said, "Guard."

He opened the French doors and stepped onto the terrace. Victoire hugged Rose near the entrance to the lounge. Lupin hovered nearby, glancing toward the front door, clearly impatient to leave. Scorpius picked up a bottle of Prosecco from the drinks station and went over to ask, "Going so soon?" He handed Lupin the bottle of wine. "Thanks for coming, Ted. Victoire."

Lupin said, "What's this, a consolation prize?"

For not finding the Green Knight costume? Scorpius laughed before he caught himself. That was his thought exactly. He said, "You mean for leaving early? Kind of you to say so."

"Don't mention it."

Victoire peered at Scorpius. "Is there somethin' on your face?"

"No, nothing. Good night."

"What's going on? Don't try to tell me nothing," Rose said once Lupin steered his fiancée toward the front door.

A new song started playing.  _Potions Yesterday,_ by Slytherin Green Five. It was a tune that had sounded brilliant sung by a dungeon full of students during a House party. Especially the chorus that said things were OK, really great, because the singer hated "you"—which everyone knew meant Potter—and so did Snape.

Scorpius cried, " _Silencio!_ " Unfortunately, his father must have cast a Counter Charm to stop the Orpheus Orb and the spell negated Scorpuis's charm instead. The song continued to play as the family stopped talking to listen.

"I haven't heard this one in years," Potter said.

Ron grinned. "You were a jerk for wrecking Dad's flying car."

"But we never called you stupid, dear," Granny Weasley said.

Ron snickered. "The Howler you sent said plenty of other things."

" _I THOUGHT YOUR FATHER WOULD DIE OF SHAME!"_ George Weasley's imitation was uncannily good.

"Absolutely disgusted!" Ron cried.

Hermione elbowed him. "You two did deserve to be expelled."

Ron asked, "But aren't you glad we weren't?"

"Yes, most of the time."

" _Most?_ " Ron shouted to Fred, "Quick, spin another orb. One with a slow song."

"Here's a Time Turners classic," Fred said.  _"Amortentia!"_

The song was a playfully sultry tune about a girl who accused a boy of slipping her Amortentia Potion because she wants him so much. Scorpius drew Rose close. She buried her face against his shoulder as her body shook. "What is it?" he asked. He glanced around and noticed that Harry and Ginny Potter were laughing softly together as they danced, and Rose's parents were smiling, although Ron's smile looked more pained than amused. "What's going on?"

"I asked you first."

Scorpius decided he didn't really need to know. He would rather sway in silence. Only Rose didn't stay silent. She murmured, "Your skin has a mother-of-pearl sheen."

"Thank you." If she was trying to make him crack by quoting song lyrics, she would have to do better than that.

She took a deep breath and sighed. "D'orange vert on your skin has got to be one of the most seductive scents I've ever inhaled."

Two could play this game. His lips brushed her hair. "The scent of you is filling me up like drink."

Rose looked at him with eyes filled with starlight. "Are you dangerously excited?"

"Verging on obsessed." And it was hard to remember that he was only playing the part of a man intoxicated by Amortentia Potion. He bent his head and whispered, "Lupin was looking for a secret compartment in our wardrobe. We had a chat. Did he say anything to you?"

"He walked up and asked if I was happy," Rose said. "When I said I couldn't be happier, he said he was happy for me."

"Decent of him." Unexpected, yet very decent. Scorpius slid his hands down Rose's back as far as he could go without touching her bum. "Old Aesop's fable must have sunk in."

"You told him a fable? Which one?"

Rose had a way of ever-so-slowly undulating her body against his; an onlooker wouldn't know she was doing it, but Scorpius damn well felt it. "Dog in the manger." Her body shook—not seductively. Oh, well, her silent laughter felt amazing too. "He's the dog, I'm the ox, and you're the hay."

"I'm food?"

"Of love."

Rose snorted.

He chuckled.

A hand touched his shoulder. "Son, I'd like to have a word with you."

Draco Malfoy's quiet stern tone was worse than Ron Weasley's yelling. Scorpius asked, "Are you and Mum leaving? Rose and I need to thank her for making the pizzas under your expert supervision."

"Yes!" Rose said. "They were the hit of the party."

"Astoria would love to hear your compliments," Draco said. "She's in the kitchen saying goodbye to the Stevenses."

"Go on," Scorpius said to Rose. "Dad and I will have our talk over by Antares and then join you." The lights near the habitat were dimmed to accommodate the owl's night vision. If they stood by the privacy railing, they could speak without being watched or overheard as long as tempers and voices remained in check.

Rose nodded and left, although the look she gave Scorpius said she'd be back to rescue him if he didn't meet her in the kitchen in a few minutes.

"She's a lovely girl," his father said as they strolled toward the railing near Antares's habitat.

"Yes, she is." Scorpius chose the best defensive position, back to the wall with the rest of the terrace in his line of sight if he looked over his father's shoulder. "I know what you want to talk about. The Orpheus Orb."

In the dim light, his father's pale skin, hair, and white shirt gave him the appearance of a vengeful ghost. "Where did you get it?"

From the same person who gave him Fanged Frisbees, Whizz Bangs, an indoor swimming pool and everything else he'd ever mentioned wanting. Not that Scorpius would admit it. This was between him and his father. He said, "Slytherin Green Five has a dozen orbs out. You heard Potter. He hadn't heard that song in years. I could've bought it anywhere."

"You know we don't listen to that kind of music in our house."

"Pop music? Unless you think the Weird Sisters are a folk group, we certainly do."

"Music with lyrics that perpetuate hate."

" _What?_ That song was from the Get Potted album. The songs were jokes, meant for fans to sing and have a laugh."

"And did you?"

"Sing them and laugh? Of course I did. So did everyone else. Are you calling Slytherin House a hate group?"

"It was when I went to school." His father's tone held regret.

Scorpius said, "Voldemort was alive when you went to school. Pure-blood worshippers aren't going to bring him back."

"No, they want someone new to lead them."

"Not this again," Scorpius looked out at the city lights. Severus Snape had known how to fly without a broom. What would it feel like to jump over the railing and soar through the darkness like a huge bat? Like freedom, he expected, or in his current situation, escape from parental worry. It didn't happen often, but whenever his father had too much to drink, the fears he kept locked away found a way to slither out and whisper their poison until Draco found Scorpius and they had yet another  _talk_. "Dad, I didn't join the Knights. Rose Weasley is my partner, and her family is over for dinner. I'm in no danger of becoming the next Dark Lord."

His father ruffled Scorpius's hair like he was a little boy. "You don't know what they're capable of, how they can influence your thoughts, twist your emotions." A scene burst into Scorpius's mind as though rough hands had plunged down into his memories and yanked the images ruthlessly to the surface.

_The secret meeting chamber deep within Hogwarts. The tapestry with a giant red serpent on a black background: the symbol of the Knights of Walpurgis. Initials carved into granite around the tapestry. Scorpius mouthing, "Fateor." Initials lighting up, representing Salazar Slytherin, Lucius Malfoy, Draco Malfoy, and Edgar Goyle_.  _Then_  . . . ** _SM._**

"No," Scorpius's father whispered. A tear rolled from the corner of his eye.

Scorpius cursed. "Look at me," he said. "You didn't see everything that happened."

_Scorpius cradled Rose's face in his hands. They kissed. He raised his wand and sent a fireball hurling at the wall._

"Now get out of my head and stay out." Scorpius rubbed his palms against his temples. "Your rusty Legilimency skills are giving me a headache."

His father shot back, "I wouldn't have been able to see anything if you bothered to practice your Occlumency regularly."

"I didn't expect a sneak attack at a family dinner."

Behind them, the sound of a throat clearing was followed by, "Sirs, Miss Rose asked me to remind you that Mrs. Malfoy is waiting to say goodbye to Master Scorpius."

"Thank you, Stevens," Scorpius said. "We'll be right in."

"Righty-o," Draco said. A grin slowly spread over his face. "You burned your initials off the Legacy Wall?"

"Before I left school." Legacy Wall, Annals of Greatness—who the bloody hell came up with those names?

His father hugged him. "I love you, son." Draco sniffled.

"Yeah, love you, too, Dad." Scorpius patted his father on the back and said, "Let's not keep Mum waiting."

His father straightened. "Right." He put on dignity like a cloak and turned toward the lounge, only swaying slightly as he walked.

Scorpius pretended that everything was fine as he kissed his mother's cheek and thanked her for all her help.

She said, "I had a wonderful time. Luna Scamander and I are having lunch tomorrow. She said her story characters haven't decided what they want to do next anyway so they're happy to come along and enjoy my company. Isn't she the most amusing person?"

"Yes."

His father hugged him again. "I'm so proud of you."

"Thanks, Dad."

"Come along, dear. Our son needs to return to his guests." Astoria manoeuvred her husband out of the flat.

Rose smiled at Scorpius. "You managed to talk your way out of a scold, didn't you?"

He shook his head.

"Are you all right?" Rose asked.

"Headache. I'll take a Pain Relief Potion." He headed for the master bathroom.

Rose followed. "I think we're out."

"Shit." He'd emptied the last flagon after using wandless Apparition to retrieve his Green Knight costume. "What about Granny Weasley? Don't grannies carry medicines around in their handbags?"

"I'll run ask. Go lie down."

Scorpius fell across the bed, head over the side in case he puked. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth against the pain battering his skull. Felix nuzzled his fingers and then curled up on the small of his back. Oddly, his pet's warmth made Scorpius feel less nauseous. He heard the French doors open.

"Granny didn't have anything except lemon sherbets, so I brought Aunt Audrey and Uncle Harry."

A Healer and an Auror. "More th' merrier."

" _What's Mini-Crookshanks doing on Malfoy's back?"_

Ron Weasley was there too? Scorpius changed his mind about more being merrier. "Feli's guarding." He'd have to apologise to his pet later for thinking he'd abandoned his post, although Merlin only knew how ridiculous they appeared.

Aunt Audrey knelt beside him. "Do you know what's causing your pain?"

"Legil'mency." Or perhaps an aneurysm.

"You attempted Legilimency?"

A discreet cough was heard. "Beg pardon, ma'am," Stevens said from somewhere on the other side of the room, "I believe Mr. Malfoy performed Legilimency when not in complete control of his faculties."

Uncle Harry knelt next to Aunt Audrey. "Mr. Malfoy being Scorpius's father."

"Super Wizard is super smart," Scorpius mumbled.

"I've also been where you are." Uncle Harry waved his wand.

"Aneurysm Vanishing Charm?" Scorpius asked hopefully.

"One that soothes and strengthens the mind.  _Conforto!"_

Scorpius passed out.

 

When he awoke, his head was on a bed pillow, his socks and shoes were off, and Rose was lying next to him. Felix and Mini-Crookshanks were pressed against his side.

"How do you feel?" Rose asked.

"Good." She wore his favourite dressing gown over fuzzy pyjamas more suited to winter than the end of summer. He didn't know what to make of the mixed signals, so he started with, "Party's over?"

"Hours ago. Everyone understood. They helped tidy the flat despite Stevens's best efforts to shoo them out the door." She reached a hand toward Mini-Crookshanks. Felix growled a little.

"Release," Scorpius said.

Rose picked up the toy Kneazle. "You'd think the host passing out after his father performed drunken Legilimency would be the biggest topic of conversation during the clearing up, but it was Felix and Mini-Crookshanks."

"No one took pictures, I hope."

"Dominique tried. I used a Vanishing Charm on her Goblin spy camera. I told her you'd send her another one." She didn't smile.

Scorpius asked, "What did they say about Felix and Mini-Crookshanks?"

Rose sat on the bed cross-legged with the toy on her lap. "He was a running joke. Merry saw his ear poking out from under the bed and put him on the mattress, and then Uncle George tossed him under the bed, but Aunt Angelina used a silent  _Accio_ to bring him back out, and so on, and so on, until Dad tried to take Mini-Crookshanks off your back and Felix nipped at him."

"I found Mini-Crookshanks under the bed and told Felix to stand guard."

"Why?"

All at once, he understood. "Why did you run in here and try to hide him before the guests arrived? I assume you were in a rush and didn't shove him under properly, and that's why Merry saw his ear."

"I asked you first. Again."

"And I'll answer you  _again_ , and hope you'll finally give me the same courtesy." Rose's eyes flashed, but she didn't deny that she'd never answered his question about what was so funny about the  _Amortentia_  song. He said, "I promised your father I wouldn't tell anyone we were living together. I never promised not to show it."

Rose's face flushed. She uncurled her legs and hopped off the bed and shook Mini-Crookshanks at him. "Showing  _is_  telling!" She marched out of the room and slammed the door. A couple of seconds later, he heard a guest room door slam shut.

Felix whimpered. Scorpius petted him and then carried him over to his hammock. "It's all right, boy. Go to sleep."

Scorpius took off the clothes he'd worn to the party and pulled on a pair of loose fit lounge trousers. He didn't tighten the drawstring. He let the waistband hang low on his hips and then went to the guest room furthest away from the master bedroom. " _Sonorous_ ," he said silently, followed by an audible, " _Yes_."

Rose cracked open the door. "Yes, what?"

"Yes, we're having a row."

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe I should have titled the chapter Party's Over, but that would have been too much of a spoiler, and I couldn't help using the Wayne's World homage. Party on, Harry. Party on, Ron. Potions Yesterday is a song by the wizard rock band Draco & the Malfoys. I wanted to use the exact lyrics so badly I actually emailed the band and asked permission, but since I got no reply (so sad!) I summarized the chorus, which, if readers go to youtube and search for the song, I think they will agree that it would sound brilliant sung by a bunch of Slytherins at a House party. I made up Slytherin Green Five, the Get Potted album and the Time Turners band and used the description of Molly's Howler from CoS and the Amortentia Potion description from HBP for the Amortentia song lyrics. The memory Draco ripped out of Scorpius was from the last chapter of Our Little Secret, which, if a reader hasn't read, I still can't have spoiled since you know they're living together six months after they left school. :D


	28. Double Row

 

Rose looked him over, her gaze lingering on his exposed hip bones. "I see you dressed for the occasion."

"I thought one of us should keep their cool."

Her eyes flashed. "Why do you think I'm in here?"

He looked past her shoulder to the darts board on the wall. "Fond memories?" All their matches had turned into strip darts.

She shut the door in his face. "I'm staying in here until you take me seriously." She didn't yell. She'd cast her own Sonorous Charm.

Scorpius braced his hands on either side of the door to keep from pounding on it. "I do take you seriously."

"Uh huh. That's why you're half naked and trying to seduce me."

"If I was trying to seduce you I'd be completely naked." He hated talking through the door. He needed to see if she was smiling even the slightest bit. "Open up. I want to talk face to face."

"And gauge my reactions and change your strategy accordingly. No. I'm not giving you that advantage," Rose said.

"I don't have to see you to picture your reactions," he said. "Right now you're standing in front of the door with your arms crossed and your lips parted, waiting for me to finish speaking so you can return fire." He leaned closer. "I don't want to fight. Let me in."

He jerked his head back at the sound of a fist hitting one of the raised panels.

"No! I'm not making up before we resolve our conflict!"

That meant he was tempting her. Scorpius said, "Your hands are on your hips. Did you take off my dressing gown?"

She answered by shoving it under the door to him.

"Thank you," he said. "It's getting chilly out here." He rubbed the material against his cheek.

_Tap! Tap! Tap!_  He imagined Rose poking the wood with her finger. "What are you doing?" she demanded. "Are you  _sniffing_ the fabric?"

"Among other things." He put the dressing gown on.

Rose said, "I can picture you tying the sash. Smirking."

"I'm not smirking," he said. "And I'm not smiling. Open the door."

"Not until you listen to me."

He sat down and leaned his head against the walnut panel. "All right."

Scorpius heard a softer  _Tap Tap_  by his ear.

"Are you down here?" Rose asked.

"Sitting is more comfortable than standing."

"I suppose you're right." He pictured her sitting down, the door between them a symbol of their divided viewpoints.

Rose was silent for a while, and then she said, "Our fathers have very different personalities, but they both lost family and friends in the war, and they both worry about their children."

"I know."

He heard Rose exhale in frustration. "Then you should have more sympathy, and you should understand why Dad wanted you to promise not to tell anyone we were living together. And showing is telling, don't try to say otherwise."

"I won't."

Now he listened to her surprised inhale. Funny how a tiny sound revealed so much. Scorpius was used to relying mostly on visual cues, but Rose was so expressive he had no problem reading the inflections in her voice and in every breathe she took.

She asked, "Are you admitting to breaking your promise deliberately?"

"Only to your family, not my grandfather."

"That's a yes."

Why did Gryffindors have to have everything spelled out? "Yes."

Even with a Sonorous Charm, he barely heard her whisper, "Why did you do it?"

He laughed without humour.

Another intake of breath: this one sounded hurt and angry.

"I wasn't laughing at you or the question." Scorpius stood. "You'd know that if you could see my face, but maybe it's a good thing you can't. I'm sure my expression isn't pleasant." He tapped a fingertip against the door. "Are you standing?"

"Does it matter?"

Her voice seemed to be coming through the door at about his level. It made it easier to visualise her looking at him. "I was laughing at myself." He cast a nonverbal  _Accio_ to retrieve his clothes, wand, and shoes. "I'm an adult, but I still allow parents to dictate rules." He undressed. "I think it's time that changed." He used a Dry Cleaning Charm to freshen the clothes he'd worn to the party and swiftly dressed.

"What are you doing?"

Scorpius heard a slight rattle. Her fingers wrapped around the door handle? He said, "I'm going to do something I should have done months ago." He cast another spell.

The handle rattled. Rose pounded on the door. "Did you use a Locking Spell?"

"I have to do this alone. Man to man," Scorpius said.

"No," Rose said. "You can't. Not without me. We're a couple. Open the door and let's talk about it first. Scor—"

Her voice cut off when he closed the door to the terrace. Scorpius turned and Apparated.

 

The Weaselys' four-storey terraced home appeared between its neighbours on Thornhill Square. He was still on the approved visitor list: at least for now. Scorpius walked up the steps and rang the bell.

Ron Weasley opened the door. He wore a sleeveless t-shirt and matching orange lounging trousers printed with the Chudley Cannons logo. "What do you want?"

"I'd like to speak with you, sir."

"Where's Rose?" Ron craned his neck as if his daughter might be hiding across the street.

"At home."  _For the moment_.

Ron's eyes became slits. " _This_  is her home. This will always  _be_ her home."

Scorpius wasn't about to debate the issue. "May I come in?"

"All right." Ron backed into the foyer.

_"Do we have a visitor?"_ Hermione Weasley's amplified voice seemed to come from upstairs.

Ron shot Scorpius a warning glance and said,  _"No."_  He walked down the corridor to the library and opened the door, jerking a thumb for Scorpius to enter first. Once the door shut, he said, "You're not visiting. Say what you have to say and then leave."

"I apologise for putting Mini-Crookshanks on the bed, and for Felix nipping your fingers. He was on guard duty."

Ron appeared at a loss for words. "OK," he said finally. "No harm done, I suppose. Everyone took it as a joke."

"I didn't."

"Me either. But I can get over it."  _If you don't pull another Mini-Crookshanks stunt again_ was implied.

"I won't." Scorpius looked Ron Weasley in the eye, man to man. No more hiding behind Rose. He said, "I'll keep my word and not tell anyone that Rose and I are living together, but I won't hide it from her family like it's something to be ashamed of. Like it's something that doesn't matter."

Ron's face turned red, and it was an alarming sight. "If Rosie mattered, you wouldn't hang out with those Knights of Walpurgis."

Scorpius said, "I wouldn't hang out with them if I was a Gryffindor or a Weasley, but I'm not. I'm a Malfoy and a Slytherin. That won't change."

"Oh yeah?" Ron poked him in the chest. "Then you'd better practice your bloody damned Occlumency, because if Draco can rip through your memories drunk, what the ruddy hell do you think a sober Legilimens is going to find when he goes looking for information?" His voice rose to a shout, "Anything he fecking wants, that's what!"

"Will they?" Scorpius asked coldly. "Use Legilimency on me. Just try."

The library door burst open. Hermione Weasley in a towelling robe, holding her wand, cried, "Ronald! What's going on?"

The doorbell rang. Scorpius bet that Rose had left the flat so quickly she'd forgotten her key. He told Ron, "I'm going to go arrange advanced Occlumency lessons right now." He threw over his shoulder as he strode down the corridor and through the lounge, "May I leave through your back garden?" Scorpius opened the French doors, stepped outside, and Apparated.

 

The houses at number Eleven and Thirteen Grimmauld Place leaned together as though number Twelve Grimmauld Place had ever existed. Scorpius stood on the pavement and considered his options. There was no Instant Happiness Charm to enable him to cast a Patronus when he had no happy thoughts, but he could try to cast a Cheering Charm on himself and hope that his mood didn't turn so optimistic that he'd feel he didn't need Harry Potter's help.

Or he could call for Kreacher.

When a son or daughter of the House of Black called, its house-elf was bound to serve: or so Grandmother Narcissa always claimed. He couldn't keep loitering in front of Muggle residences. Someone would walk out and ask what he was doing or ring the police. Scorpius said, "Kreacher, come to me."

An old house-elf with watery green eyes appeared beside him. "Kreacher's master is Harry Potter, but he will always answer the call of a True Black."

"Thank you. I need you to tell your master that Scorpius Malfoy asks to speak with him on a matter of importance."

The elf wiped his eyes with the hem of his tea towel. "If only Mistress could see family return." He vanished.

Shortly afterward, Twelve Grimmauld Place materialised between its neighbours. The front door opened. Harry waved him inside. "Kreacher said a true son of the House of Black asked to see me. I assumed he meant you." He smiled a little.

Scorpius glanced around the entrance hall. It was grander than the one at Thornhill Square, but he was glad Rose hadn't grown up at Grimmauld Place. No amount of redecorating could make him forget the nightmare-inducing family stories Grandmother had shared on the rare occasions she'd tucked him into bed. He noticed the other man's striped pyjamas and said, "I apologise for barging in so late."

"I'm sure you have good reason. Let's go down to the kitchen. Kreacher's making tea."

The doorbell rang, followed by several raps of the door knocker and "Uncle Harry!"

"It's Rose," Scorpius said. "She and I . . . ."  _Are having a row? Playing a non-sexy version of hide and seek?_

Harry nodded. "I've been there too." He said. "I'll tell Kreacher to brew a full pot," and left his guest alone in the entry.

Scorpius took a deep breath and opened the door.

Rose stared at him. She was barefoot, with tousled hair. The legs of her fuzzy pyjama trousers showed beneath the hem of his grey silk dressing gown. She said, "We need a new guest room door. I ended up using a Vanishing Charm on the pieces that were left after the  _Incendio_."

He took it as a hopeful sign that she'd said "we" needed a new door instead of "you" and backed into the entrance hall. "Did you use a Summoning Spell for your wand, or did you cast wandless spells?"

"Wandless. That's why there's also some fire and water damage." She closed the door and leaned against it. "I was furious that you went charging off to see my dad without me." She didn't look angry anymore. She looked hurt.

Scorpius took a step toward her. "The Green Knight hides behind his cloak of shadows. When it comes to your father, I've been hiding behind you. I won't do that anymore."

Rose lifted her chin. "So you told him, man to man, that you won't pretend we aren't living together?"

"Not to your family." He tried to smile, but it felt crooked. "Whatever else they may believe about me, I want there to be no doubt that you are the most important person in my life. I'm not ashamed of how I feel about you. I won't hide it." He moved closer. "Will you forgive me?"

She hurled herself into his arms, wrapping her arms around him.

Scorpius held her tight. "I hated that door anyway," he said.

Rose smiled up at him. "Why?"

"For coming between us."

Her lips parted. He bent his head.

"Hold that thought," she said.

"What?"

Rose took his hand and started walking down the corridor. "You came here to ask Uncle Harry to give us advanced Occlumency lessons, right?"

"Yes."

She gave him a saucy look. "The sooner we do that, the sooner we go home and make up." She giggled when he pulled her along in his sprint toward the basement stairs.


	29. Occlumency Experiments

 

 

Scorpius yanked open the door to the basement.

"Don't drag me down the stairs," Rose said laughingly. "If I fall I might not bounce."

"Rosie?"

They turned to face Albus, who appeared to have just returned home. His hair stuck up in all directions.

"Al!" Rose said. "I didn't expect to see you. Is everything all right between you and Merry?"

"We're brilliant, actually. I came home because James has a team meeting—" He checked his watch. "This afternoon. Mum wants us to have a family breakfast before he goes." He walked toward them. "What are you two doing here?"

"We're having tea and discussing advanced Occlumency lessons," Scorpius said. Rose rewarded his honesty with a smile.

"Mind if I join you?" Albus asked.

Scorpius's gaze flickered to Rose. He would rather not discuss his need to be a more skilled Occlumens in front of an Auror Trainee.

She said, "Of course not, but if you act like a know-it-all I'm going to hex."

Albus grinned. "Get enough of that at home, do you?"

Scorpius said, "I'm not a—" before he realised that Albus referred to Rose's mother.

Albus blinked. His owlish expression very much resembled his father's. "Wait. That stuff about Mini-Crookshanks wasn't a joke? You two are actually living together?"

"Yes," Scorpius said. "And we don't want it to become public knowledge."

"Not everyone is as open-minded as my dad," Rose added wryly.

"Yeah, he was so jolly about it." The moment of shared humour ended abruptly when Albus asked, "Did you think I'd be narrow-minded? Is that why you didn't tell me?"

"No!"

Rose's stricken expression made Scorpius want to do something to alleviate it. He said, "We promised her parents not to tell anyone. Tonight, I . . . specified . . . that the promise didn't include your family."

"They had a  _man to man_  talk," Rose said.

Albus gaped at Scorpius. "I avoid Merry's father, and he approves anything she does. How did you talk to Uncle Ron? He's scary!"

"He is not," Rose said.

"Is too. Remember the time we were playing in the back garden and Hugo set off a rocket and woke your father from his nap? He came charging out yelling that our ass was grass and he was the Muggle lawnmower. I almost pissed myself!" Albus looked ready to piss himself again, but with laughter.

"He does have a temper sometimes," Rose said.

"I've noticed," Scorpius replied.

Albus chuckled. "Wish I could've been there to see you going toe to toe with Uncle Ron."

Not a bad idea. Scorpius said, "We could try your Legilimency against my Occlumency."

The sound of a throat clearing carried up through the open doorway. Harry Potter's voice followed.  _"The tea is getting cold."_

Rose startled. "And you call my dad scary," she whispered to Albus.

He shrugged and gestured for Scorpius to lead the way.

 

It was easy to imagine Grandmother Narcissa as a girl descending the same narrow stairs. The stone looked original to the house. The kitchen, with its modern furnishings and well lit, butterscotch-coloured walls, was nothing like the murky grey dungeon in his grandmother's stories. His gaze was drawn to a small door opposite the one he knew led to the pantry. His grandmother had told him:

_If I was naughty when I came to visit, Aunt Walburga would lock me in the kitchen cupboard where Kreacher made his den. I sat on his nest of blankets, which was scarcely cleaner than the floor, and had to pass the time looking at the photographs he'd collected of our family._

Rose tugged his hand. He followed her to the end of the table nearest the cooker. Harry—Scorpius couldn't think of him as Uncle Harry if he was going to be an adult and call Rose's father Ron—sat at the head of the table. Albus sat in a chair to his father's left. Scorpius pulled out a chair for Rose to her uncle's right. Once they were all seated, Kreacher served tea, first to his master, and then to Scorpius.

"OK, I see how it is," Albus said.

"Don't tease Kreacher," Rose said. "He's displaying proper manners. Scorpius is a guest."

Cold fingers brushed Scorpius's wrist. "Does Miss Narcissa ever speak of Kreacher?"

"Yes. She told me you had a pet mouse." Not in those exact words. She'd said:

_I always pretended to be traumatised when Auntie finally let me out, but when Kreacher brought a rodent into his den to give me the plague and ruin my looks, I screamed and screamed._

"Miss Narcissa does not care for mice," Kreacher said sadly.

The hysterics had probably been a giveaway. Scorpius said the first thing he could think of to change the subject. "I have a pet too. A Niffler."

"And an owl," Rose said.

" _We_ have an owl," Scorpius replied.

Albus dropped his spoon into his teacup. "Hold on. You two are living together and bought an owl together, and I'm still living at home?"

Scorpius glanced around. "It's a very nice home."

"Thank you," Harry said. He told Albus, "Don't forget that living here for free allows you to afford a social life."

Albus fished his spoon out of his cup. "Fine. I'm a low-paid Auror trainee with an expensive girlfriend. I should be grateful not to have to live in a bedsit like Aunt Hermione when she started Ministry training. Got it. Let's talk about something else, like Occlumency lessons."

Harry looked at Scorpius and Rose. "I'll admit I'm surprised that you two want my help. At school, Draco hid what he was doing from Snape, who was the most skilled Legilimens I've ever known. He's more than qualified to give advanced lessons."

Rose asked, "Is it because he's your father and it's easier to learn from others?"

Scorpius shook his head. "It's the way he was taught to perform Occlumency, the way he taught me. It's cold. You cut off all compassion." If Ron Weasley had tried to use Legilimency against him . . . . He didn't want to think about what he would have done. He looked at Harry and recalled the time he had blocked his father's Legilimency by bringing up a memory of Grandfather Lucius taking Draco to task for a poor business investment at the dinner table. His father had sent him to his room. Later, he'd come in and talked.

_Your Great-Aunt Bellatrix used memories as weapons too. You have to be careful not to become a bully, son._

Harry's Legilimency was more subtle than Scorpius's father's, even when Draco was sober. There was only a faint, uneasy feeling. Scorpius broke eye contact.

"Once you start bullying with thoughts, it isn't long before you become a bully in deeds," Harry said, "That's a valid concern."

"My grandfather vowed never to use Legilimency on me." If he hadn't, Draco and Astoria would have moved out of Malfoy Manor. "I haven't had to use Occlumency outside my father's lessons."

"I didn't either until Auror training," Albus said. He told his father, "You didn't teach us to guard our minds by getting rid of emotion. You made us practice setting our thoughts and emotions apart. I used to imagine them in a box surrounded by a mound of packing chips, and only I could find the box in all those chips."

Harry smiled. "I used to call them mood chips because they'd change colours depending on whether you were happy or annoyed during the lesson."

Albus turned to Scorpius. "What colour are they now?"

Scorpius lifted his teacup to take a sip of tea and silently cast a Legilimency spell. "Blue," he said. In Albus's mind, he saw a piece of fabric sticking out of the packing chips. "Like Merry's . . . eyes." Albus threw him a grateful look. Scorpius could have said, "bra."

"Try Uncle Harry's method," Rose said.

Scorpius tried to imagine his private thoughts and memories as a box. A wooden box, not a cardboard posting box. Instead of packing chips, his box was buried in a snowbank. He glanced at Rose, and the calm expression on her face made him wonder if Hermione Weasley taught Occlumency as a form of mindfulness to be practiced like yoga. He could picture Rose casting a spell without words and a playful breeze blowing the snow from a corner of his hidden box. Scorpius decided to let her see a memory, not to painfully block her out, but to distract her from trying to see further inside his mind.

_The Head Girl received a letter from home, and like a typical Gryffindor couldn't wait to open it. She stopped beside one of the massive Christmas trees in the Great Hall and ripp_ ed _the envelope. One of the mistletoe balls floating around the Hall began to hover over her head. Grant, the Hufflepuff Team Captain, walked toward Rose with a stupid grin on his face. Suddenly, the mistletoe ball blew toward Grant. Four Hufflepuff girls jumped up from their table._

Rose's sharp intake of breath revealed her surprise.

"You should thank me," Scorpius said.

"For what?" Albus asked.

Scorpius looked across the table. A mistake. He had a mental image of a bold gust of wind toppling half the snowbank covering his box. He reacted instinctively, throwing a memory at Albus like an ice snowball.

_The Plain Jane Potion version of Merry was dancing with Scorpius. She looked toward Albus, her eyes filling with tears._

"Low blow," Albus muttered.

Scorpius glanced at Rose. The playful breeze was back, trying to uncover another memory.

"I think that's enough for now," Harry said.

"No," Scorpius whispered. There wasn't enough snow covering his box. The breeze and the wind were blowing it away. He had to cover it with snow. An image rose in his mind of a wizard who could make snow. Control it. Use it against Super Wizard. Scorpius became the character, embraced the power of winter and called down an avalanche of snow.

The world turned white.

 

When he opened his eyes, Scorpius was lying in an unfamiliar bed in an unfamiliar room, unable to move his arms and legs. Someone had wrapped him like a mummy in blankets that radiated heat on his abdomen, under his armpits, and the area between his abdomen and his thighs.

"He's awake!" Rose shouted.

Scorpius turned his head and had the breath kissed out of him.

"Uncle Harry said if he hadn't used a Stunning Spell you would have given yourself hypothermia." Her eyes were dark with remembered fear. "What happened?"

"How is my patient?" Audrey Weasley, in a brown tracksuit with her hair pulled back as if she'd been exercising in the middle of the night, strode into the room followed by the entire Potter family, minus Lily, who had probably jolted out of a dead sleep at Hogwarts with the premonition that she was missing out on excitement at home.

Scorpius said, "I'm sorry to have disturbed everyone's sleep."

James, wearing striped pyjamas that matched his father's, said, "That was Dad's doing. He tried to sneak Aunt Audrey into the house and set off our Sneakoscopes."

"I was trying to be considerate," Harry said.

His wife and sons snorted in disbelief.

Audrey finished waving her wand over Scorpius. "The combination of passive and active external rewarming took care of your slight hypothermia. Rest for a few more hours and you should be good to go, Mr. Malfoy."

"Scorpius, please," he said.

She smiled ruefully. "I spoke out of habit. Healers always address patients formally."

A shout came from downstairs. " _Audrey!"_

Audrey said. "I'll go reassure Percy that no one is in mortal peril." As she walked out of the room, she said musingly, "I wonder why hiding the Sneakoscope in the sock drawer didn't work."

Harry broke the silence that followed by saying, "Percy must have exchanged it for one of the new, super-sensitive models."

Ginny Potter asked dryly, "Like the ones I picked up?"

"Yeah." Harry brought over a chair upholstered in an aqua floral pattern and sat in easy Legilimency range.

Scorpius looked around the room. The duvet and wallpaper had different, yet coordinating designs. "Someone likes flowers."

Rose said, "This is where Granny and Granddad Weasley stay when they visit." A tinge of pink washed over her cheeks when he raised his brows slightly. She shook her head over more than her Granny's questionable taste. She was saying,  _No, we're not having make up sex where my grandparents sleep._ Maybe he could play it off as something other than sexual activity, like active external rewarming.

The bed dipped several times as the rest of the Potters sat wherever they felt like it on Rose's side of the bed. They reminded Scorpius of a pride of lions lounging together under a tree on the savannah. He wondered what that made him. A cheetah? He did have the urge to run. He tried to wiggle out of the blankets.

"Leave the blankets on for now," Rose said. "I had to, erm, remove your clothes."

"That was the passive rewarming," Harry said.

"Were his clothes wet?" Ginny asked. She held a hand over her mouth to stifle a yawn.

Rose said, "They were icy cold."

"Until Rosie cast a Warming Charm. Then they turned soggy," Albus said.

James asked, "What did you do to yourself, Malfoy?"

"His dad taught him to use cold to block Legilimency," Albus said.

"Weird," James replied.

Rose sat up against the headboard. "And imagining a box with packing chips is normal?"

"More normal than your mum's Zen Occlumency."

"Shut up, James," Albus said. "Shouldn't you be resting up for your team meeting? Why are you even here?"

Scorpius saw the resemblance between the brothers. They both had their mother's stubborn chin and challenging stare; although one brother had brown eyes and the other had green.

"Why are  _you_  here?" James shot back. "Are you and Malfoy mates?"

"Any friend of Rose is a friend of mine," Scorpius said.

"Stuff it," James said. He stood. "I'm going back to bed. Don't wake me up until there's a full English breakfast on the table."

"I'll ask Kreacher to give him black pudding," Albus muttered.

"James hates black pudding," Rose said.

"Then you'll never have to worry about him becoming a vampire." Scorpius didn't care for blood sausage either. Or tinned beans for that matter, although he'd only had them once, when Edgar's mother served cold beans on toast for their tea, and the sight of the dented can made Scorpius research an Anti-Botulism Charm when he returned home.

"We all need to get some rest," Harry said. "I have only one question. Scorpius, how did you counter both Rose and Albus's Legilimency? They each had the impression of your box buried so far beneath snow that they couldn't reach it."

He was already swaddled in blankets, it couldn't make him look more childish to admit, "I visualised becoming a character from a Wizard Comic."

Scorpius felt slightly less juvenile when Harry and Albus both said,  _"Jack Frost!"_

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've always used what Snape told Harry as my basis for Occlumency, but looking into it further, Harry blocked out Voldemort when he was grieving Sirius and Dobby, and I agree with the theory that Draco blocked Snape by shutting down his compassion, and that led him to bullying others. I started thinking that maybe Occlumency is a tailored to the user magic, not one specific swish and flick fits all spell. Wondering how Scorpius felt about his father's style of Occlumency, and how Harry and Hermione might have taught their children led to this chapter.  
> I used the description of Kreacher's den from the books, and Audrey hiding the Sneakoscope in the sock drawer was a reference to Harry hiding his in a pair of Vernon's old socks to keep it from going off.


	30. Friend Zone

 

"Who's Jack Frost?" Rose asked.

"Minor villain. He only appeared in a couple of comics," Scorpius said.

Albus snorted. "Minor? He almost caused a new Ice Age!"

"A drastic way to ensure Global Warming didn't melt his ice hotels," Harry said.

Ginny patted Scorpius's bundled foot. "I hope your Occlumency experiment taught you a lesson. Visualise having Jack Frost's powers, but don't  _become_ Jack Frost. He'll freeze the life out of you."

"He isn't all bad," Scorpius muttered.

"Few people are," Harry said.

Scorpius avoided looking at anyone.

The mattress shifted as Ginny rose. She stifled another yawn. "As much as I enjoy listening to boys of all ages discuss comics, everyone needs to get some sleep. Breakfast is at ten sharp."

Albus said, "Aw, Mum. Can't we push it back an hour?"

"No, because it would confuse Kreacher. Elevenses is tea and light refreshments to him, and I want an English breakfast, not egg and cress sandwiches and ginger newts."

"Me, too." Albus stood. "Goodnight and good morning everyone. See you at breakfast, Rosie. Scorpius."

Harry carried his chair back to the other side of the room. He said, "Get some rest" and followed the others out, shutting the door.

Rose said, "Your expression closed down as soon as they mentioned Jack Frost. Was he based on a real person?"

Scorpius exhaled heavily. "His alter ego had long white hair and used a cane as a weapon."

Rose pressed her lips together, but her eyes gleamed with amusement.

"If Grandfather knew, I'm sure he'd be flattered," Scorpius said.

"Let me guess. Creevey gave him an icy wit."

Scorpius shrugged—an ineffective gesture due to the mummy wrap. He said, "If I knew these blankets had no sentimental value, I'd use a Vanishing Charm to be rid of them."

Rose reached for her wand. "Uncle Harry taught me a spell." She waved her wand in a fast, tight circle and then gave it a flick. " _Explicatio!"_

He uncoiled from the blankets as if a giant hand had yanked on the edges to unwind the fabric. Scorpius spun and then bounced and slid off the bed. Rose lunged and grabbed. His weight sent them both thumping to the floor.

"I shouldn't have added that last flick," Rose said. "Did I cause you more bodily harm?"

"No." The room was spacious enough to allow a generous amount of space on either side of the bed. The floral rug they were lying on was soft and plush. He appreciated the Potters' decision to pay the extra Galleons for Permanent Comfort Charms on guest room rugs. Scorpius held onto Rose's hips when she tried to lift her weight off him.

The ends of her hair brushed his cheek as she said, "My grandparents walk on this rug."

Scorpius smiled. "As long as they don't do anything else on it." He cast a wandless Cleaning Charm that left the rug smelling of citrus.

Rose breathed in and said with a tinge of regret, "I used to hide under the bed in here when we played Aurors and Dark Wizards. I can still imagine myself staring out, ready to roll to the other side if someone came in."

"Visualise your younger self running out of the room. Now we're alone."

She looked tempted.

Scorpius pretended to shiver. "I think I need a different kind of active external rewarming."

Rose kissed him in a way that raised his body temperature. "I do want you to fully recover."

 

Scorpius felt in the best of health when he awoke later. He was trying to silently open a wardrobe door when he heard, "If you're looking for your clothes, they're gone." Rose had a defiantly guilty look on her face, a combination of  _I won't apologise for trying to save your life by getting rid of your wet clothes_ and  _I should've thought of something other than a Vanishing Charm._

He put on the dressing gown she'd worn over his pyjamas. "I'll borrow something from Albus."

She sprang out of bed to pull on her fuzzy top and trousers. "Your hair looks worse than Al's did when he came home. I'll borrow the clothes while you take a shower. Bathroom's just down the corridor to your right."

Her hair was tousled as much as his, something he didn't mind others seeing. He nodded and opened the door.

When he returned to the room, Rose went to take a shower. Scorpius made the bed with a swish of his wand and looked at the garments stacked on a chair. He left the Aztec print briefs—a never worn gag gift he was sure—and tried on the khaki cargo shorts. His grandmother would faint if she could see his uncovered calves, but the fit was decent. The t-shirt was green, with the Holyhead Harpies logo on it.

Since he had no socks, and his Italian shoes didn't match the Potter-casual attire, Scorpius transformed his shoes into hiking sandals.

He'd expected Rose to borrow an outfit from Lily. When she walked in, the difference in height between the cousins turned a short teal halter dress into something that almost made him reconsider wearing the Aztec briefs. "You look beautiful."

"Thank you. The matching high heels were the only ones with a Sizing Charm. You look . . . comfortable." She was eyeing his legs the way he'd eyed hers. Perhaps he should buy some shorts to wear around the flat on weekends.

Scorpius raised his eyebrows slightly and picked up the briefs with the tip of his thumb and forefinger.

"They were the only pair he'd never worn before." She giggled when he said, " _Mitto_  Albus" to return the briefs. "I think he was hoping to get rid of them."

"He should slip them into James's luggage."

Rose said, "I'll tell him your idea."

 

Downstairs in the kitchen, the rest of the family had already gathered at the table. Tendrils of steam wafted up from their teacups. They hadn't waited long. Scorpius pulled out the chair next to Albus for Rose. He glanced toward the cooker. Kreacher was nowhere in sight, although silver cloche stasis covered plates lined the worktop.

Ginny poured tea for them. "Nice t-shirt," she said.

Next to his mother, James scoffed. "A Puddlemere United shirt would look better."

_GONG! GONG!_

James yelped, "What the fu—?"

Ginny put her hand over James's mouth. "Language!"

"I think Kreacher dragged out the Black family dinner gong," Harry said.

As if to confirm his words, another brassy  _gong_ reverberated through the kitchen. The house-elf's voice rang out. "Breakfast is served!"

Platters filled with fried eggs, slices of black pudding, rashers of bacon, sausages, fried mushrooms and tomatoes, lakes of baked beans and triangles of buttered toast appeared in front of each family member.

Scorpius's plate had poached eggs, grilled bacon, mushrooms, and tomatoes, and a croissant.

"Coach Wood never lets us eat like this," James said happily. He speared a sausage with his fork and was about to take a bite when he noticed Scorpius's breakfast. He asked, "What's up, Malfoy, you on a reducing diet?"

Before James finished speaking, Kreacher was beside Scorpius, placing a crystal jam pot on the table near the croissant. "Blacks never eats fatty breakfasts."

Scorpius doubted the croissant was low fat, but he wasn't going say so and risk having it taken away.

"You don't know what you're missing," Rose said. She spooned some beans onto toast. "These aren't tinned."

"We eat healthy most of the time," Ginny said.

"Just not on Sundays." Albus's tone gave away his intent to cause mischief even before Scorpius observed tiny wheels of black pudding rolling from Albus's plate to James's.

"Oh, no you don't," James said. He picked up a slice of black pudding and flung it at his brother.

Albus picked up his knife and swung it like a Beater's Bat.

The slice landed on Scorpius's plate.

"Ha! You scored a goal for my team," James crowed.

Kreacher pointed at the offending pudding slice. It vanished. He said, "Blacks is always mannerly when they has guests."

"We are, too,  _normally_ ," Ginny said with a pointed look at James.

He clutched his chest. "My own mother calls me abnormal."

"Her and who else?" Albus asked. "Your latest Siren's Secret model girlfriend?"

"I wish," James replied. "Coach has us training so hard I barely had time to date Karlie once, much less—"

"Eat your breakfast, boys," Harry said.

Albus and James grinned at each other, reminding Scorpius of all the times he and Edgar had bantered in a similar fashion.

_If you were my brother, you could use those Cleaning Charms picked up from the servants to keep my room tidy._

_If you were my brother, you'd be better looking._

Cool fingers touched his arm. "Blacks is often sad when thinking of the past," Kreacher whispered.

Scorpius nodded. "Breakfast is delicious. My compliments."

Kreacher gave a rusty-sounding chuckle and Disapparated.

James said, "Better hope Lily doesn't find out that she'd got competition for the title of Kreacher's Pet."

"Yes," Scorpius said. "Better hope she doesn't."

Kreacher returned with newspapers.

_"Sports section!"_  James and Ginny said.

Kreacher divvied up the papers. Scorpius watched bemusedly as the family managed to simultaneously eat, read the newspaper, and discuss articles of interest with one another. "No, thank you," he said when James offered him the sports section. Rose had finished eating. "We need to get home and take care of our pets." He thanked Ginny and Harry for their hospitality. Rose hugged everyone.

Albus walked them out. He said, "Merry and I had a great time at the party."

Scorpius made a quick decision. "We're throwing another one at the Sleazy Kneazle on Saturday if you're interested."

Rose told Albus, "There's a Slytherin-themed party room. Mostly Slytherins from our year will be there."

"Plus guests," Scorpius said. There had been 123 Slytherins in his class. Not quite as many as in the old days, but a respectable number. Only recently had the students Sorted into Slytherin House each year numbered above eighty. Of the classmates attending, a few of them were bound to have non-Slytherin dates.

"Merry would love it," Albus said. "Yeah, thanks, we'll come. Remind me again on Friday so I can make sure I have something clean to wear. Mum makes me do my own laundry."

Once the door shut behind them, Scorpius said, "Friday?"

"Our next Occlumency lesson."

"Here?"

"Our flat. I, erm, volunteered you to make pizzas, too, while you were unconscious." When he nodded, she asked, "Did you invite Al and Merry for me?"

"I did it for us. If Al's your best mate, he should be my friend as well."

They walked in silence for a minute, and then she said, "I'd be Edgar's friend if he let me."

"I know," Scorpius replied. The street was deserted, so he Disapparated.

 

Felix jumped all over him the moment he entered the flat. The automatic kibble dispenser in the kitchen was filled, so the Niffler was starving for attention, not food. Scorpius scratched him in all the spots he liked and then rubbed his belly. Felix rolled over and scurried to Rose when she walked in. She petted him and said, "Let's go see Antares."

The owl popped out of his burrow as if demanding to know where they'd been. Scorpius tossed him a petrified grasshopper and countered the charm. Antares pounced when the grasshopper started to jump.

An emphatic hoot drew Scorpius's gaze to the other end of the terrace. A Great Horned Owl perched on the barbeque. The owl clacked its beak, conveying demand and annoyance.

Rose approached the owl and removed a scroll from the message case attached to its leg.

Scorpius dropped another grasshopper into Antares's habitat and then offered one to the Great Horned Owl, who took it and flew away.

"That was a Hogwarts owl," Rose said. "The crest was on the message case."

"Another scold from Lily?"

Rose unrolled the scroll. "Hugo."

She read it and bit her lip.

"What does he say?"

"We have to go apologise to Teryn. He wrote and asked if she was going to the party and she knew nothing about it, and now she probably thinks he's the only one in the family who's a true friend." Rose handed him the note. "I feel awful."

"It was a family party. Hugo shouldn't have assumed she'd be invited." He scanned the note. Hugo deserved a Stinging Hex.

"That's not it," Rose said. "When Edgar broke things off with Teryn, we helped her get a job working for Dad and Uncle George, helped her find a place to live, and then we just . . . left her on her own."

"She was working full time at the shop, and we were on holiday." Scorpius refused to let Rose take the blame for her brother's mistake. "Hugo boasted that they ate lunch together all the time. He'd still be trying to charm his way out of the friend zone if he didn't have to go back to school."

"I know that," Rose said.

"But you want to go apologise anyway." Not a bad idea, if they gave Teryn warning. "All right. We can send Antares with a note asking to visit around two o'clock."

"I'm afraid she'll say she's busy." The look she gave him added,  _Can't we go see her unannounced?_

"We can drop by at two." That should be a safe time. "There's a park in the area. We'll take Felix for a walk."

"No one could shut the door in his face." Rose knelt down. Felix, brilliant at reading visual cues, scampered over to get a tummy rub. She said, "Maybe if he had a cute pet Hugo would have more luck getting Teryn to go out with him."

"Doubtful."

Rose mock glared. "Hugo isn't an ogre."

"That might help. She's in love with Edgar, after all."

She sighed. "Love triangles are only amusing in Muggle television dramas."

When they involved people she didn't care about. He agreed and said, "Let's sit on the lounger and watch Antares play with his food."

Rose picked Felix up. "I could use a cuddle."

 

Their cuddle on the lounger turned into a nap. After changing clothes and walking Felix, who looked like a black Dachshund with his Appearance Charm collar, they strolled over to Teryn's block of flats at half past two.

Teryn answered the door in a dressing gown. Her uncombed blonde hair and apprehensive dark gaze added up to exactly what Scorpius had feared.

"We were in the neighbourhood and thought we'd stop by," he said. "I forgot that last Sunday was the full moon. If you're still recovering—"

"No, that only takes a few days."

For someone who had lived with her Gran in a Goyle-owned slum house for years, Teryn had never picked up any street smarts. Scorpius said, "We don't want to intrude."

"Would you like to go have a drink?" Rose asked. "There's an outdoor café that allows pets."

Felix, who equated the word café with treats, perked up his ears and wagged his tail.

"He's sooo cute," Teryn said.

Rose slanted Scorpius a "told you she'd go for a guy with a cute pet" look. "He's actually a Niffler."

"I've always wanted to see one! Come in!"

There was so much innocent delight on the girl's face, she looked younger than seventeen. Scorpius reluctantly entered the flat. He owned the building, so he'd made sure the furnished flat was well-appointed and maintained. While Rose unfastened Felix's collar and Teryn sat next to her on the sofa and asked about all the things she'd read about Nifflers, was this and that true, he covertly surveyed the lounge. No mugs on the tables. No plates or takeaway boxes.

He asked, "May I use your lavatory?"

"Of course," Teryn said. She never took her eyes off Felix, who had wriggled his way onto her lap.

The remodelled floorplan included a water closet for guests. He walked past it to the end of the short corridor and opened the bedroom door. Half the room was a walled off safe room built for werewolves. A bed and a built in wardrobe took up the rest of the space. Edgar, thankfully dressed in a black shirt and trousers, lounged on the bed reading  _Quidditch Illustrated._ He lowered the magazine and held up a pair of Extendable Ears.

"If you heard us at the door, why are you still here?" Scorpius asked.

"Marianne's worried that we'll become social outcasts if we don't attend your alumni party. I want to be able to tell her that I spoke with you and you understand that I'll be away on business, and she feels she should stay home with Mother." If Teryn looked young for her age, Edgar looked older, lines creasing his brow, his hulking frame thinner.

"Will you be away on business?" Scorpius asked.

Edgar said, "It's Teryn's eighteenth birthday."

"And nothing shows you care like lying to your wife to be with your mistress on her birthday."

"Unless it's inviting your lover's family of blood-traitors over for dinner." Edgar smiled thinly. "Teryn didn't tell me. I read the letter from her Weasley boy pen-friend. She always leaves things out, and I tidy up after her."

"You love Teryn." Scorpius could see it in the way Edgar's face softened when he talked about tidying up, could hear it in his voice. "Why not divorce Marianne?"

Edgar's smile became pitying. "I don't know who I feel sorrier for, you or your dad." He tilted his head slightly as if considering the matter and then said, "I feel sorrier for you, because your dad owns up to being weak, and you're still pretending—" Edgar cursed, clutching his hand.

Scorpius cast another Stinging Hex. And another. He locked the door. "I think you forgot who always won our old game Bee Sting. Let me remind you."

Between gritting out profanities, Edgar started laughing, a rolling deep laugh that brought a smile to Scorpius's face even as he continued to hex.

Scorpius asked, "What were you saying about being weak?"

The door handle rattled. "What's going on? Are you all right?" It was Rose.

Edgar shouted, "He is now." He smiled boyishly. "I knew my best mate was still there. Women don't change who we really are."

Scorpius left the room. "I discovered Teryn has company. We'll go out another time."

"Tomorrow?" Teryn asked. She held Felix and seemed disinclined to let him go without the promise of seeing him again.

"Lovely," said Rose. She asked Teryn about her work hours and they arranged to meet at the café for dinner. He said goodbye and walked block after block, carrying Felix like an automaton until they reached their building. "We're taking the lift," Rose said when he would have climbed the stairs. "You've had enough mindless activity."

He tried to smile, but even his face felt numb. When they reached the penthouse, he said, "I knew Edgar wouldn't stay away from Teryn." Scorpius set Felix down and removed his enchanted collar and leash. "I arranged for her to have the first floor corner flat so he could enter through the garden undetected."

Rose said, "All those weekends Hugo thought she was spending alone—"

"She was with Edgar. I thought being with her . . . ." Scorpius couldn't say it.

"You thought it would make a difference."

_Women don't change who we really are._

Scorpius said, "Loving you changed me."

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title came from Hugo being friend-zoned by Teryn, but it ended up being about making friends and dealing with the reality of who friends are. Everyone who's read the previous chapter fics and has wanted an update on Edgar and Teryn . . . this probably isn't what you hoped for. Sorry about that. The number of Slytherins in Slytherin House came from a JKR quote that there were 1,000 students at Hogwarts altogether, and I started thinking that the avg of 143 per House per year would fluctuate, and in Slytherin's case drop like a stone for years after the Battle of Hogwarts. I actually looked up the projected full moon in the year 2025. It's fun to look, uh, stuff up (I had to change my wording because I imagined Captain America (like Ginny, heh) saying, "Language!"). :D


	31. Dinner Conversation

 

Rose hugged him. She pressed close, pulling him into her warmth. Scorpius didn't know if she was trying to make him feel better about Edgar or responding to him saying that loving her had changed him. It didn't matter. It was exactly what he needed.

She sighed.

He knew what was coming and made a counter move. He wrapped his arms around her a little tighter and lifted as he stepped backwards.

"What are you doing?" Rose asked.

"I call it a hug carry." Scorpius glanced over his shoulder to make sure he wasn't going to run into anything. Soot and water streaked the corridor walls. She hadn't only blasted the door to the guest room. The framing around the door was jagged and splintered. He looked down at Rose. "You weren't having me on about the fire and water damage."

Her expression was a blend of pride and apology. "Can Stevens help you fix it? I'd hate for our row to end up as a story in  _The Intruder_."

"If he can't, I'll have the carpenter sign a non-disclosure agreement."

Abruptly, she seemed to float in his arms. Scorpius asked, "Why did you cast a Featherlight Charm?"

"You were slowing down. I thought I was getting heavy."

"I was admiring your demolition work." He lifted her up for a kiss and then took a step forward, dipping her backwards until her hair swept the floor before raising her up again. "The last time I tried that, I was nine and dropped my dance instructor." He smirked as he pinned Rose to the wall. "She claimed I did it on purpose and refused to teach me again."

Rose wrapped her legs around his waist. "Did you?"

He said, "I liked ballroom dancing as much as I cared for wearing green velvet dress robes and singing for Grandmother Narcissa's friends."

"So you loved it."

The naughty gleam in her eyes was enough warning for Scorpius to brace himself and not become off-balanced when Rose silently countered the Featherlight Charm. She narrowed her eyes. Her weight abruptly doubled. He staggered into the bedroom and fell with her onto the bed. "I think you broke it."

"Your back?" She pushed him onto his stomach and pulled up his shirt. Her fingers alternated between stroking his skin and prodding it.

"Up a little," he said. "In the middle."

"It hurts?"

"Itches. The bed frame is what might be broken."

She pinched him instead of scratching. "Distraction only postpones talking, you know."

He rolled onto his side. "Unless the distraction is so spectacular neither of us wants to talk." Rose, kneeling on the duvet cover, skirt of her sundress riding up, inspired several ideas.

She captured his hand before his fingers did more than graze the inside of her thigh. "You said loving me changed you."

"It has."

Rose lifted his hand and kissed it. "No, it hasn't. It just made you stop hiding who you really are. Not from the world—" she said when he started to open his mouth. "I'm not talking about the Slytherin pride you put on like the Green Knight costume."

"That's real," he said. "It's a part of me I don't always like, but it will always exist, and I'll use it when I have to."

"I meant that you've stopped hiding who you are from the people you care about." Her eyes were shiny. She gripped his hand like she was trying to give support even as she told an unpleasant truth. "And so has Edgar."

"No." The denial was hollow, something he could no longer convince himself to believe.

_I knew my best mate was still there._

Edgar wanted a best mate who attacked and kept attacking to prove his strength, a brother Knight of Walpurgis.

Scorpius wanted a best mate who didn't believe in pure-blood supremacy, a best mate who fell in love with a werewolf and protected her from his father on the island where Gregory Goyle and his cronies played a murderous game.

Neither of them got everything they wanted.

"He isn't all bad," Scorpius said. He laughed shortly. "Just like Grandfather Lucius, although I never had any illusions about Grandfather's beliefs." He tried to say lightly, "Do you suppose Teryn is telling Edgar, 'He isn't all good'?"

"I don't think they talk like we do," Rose said. "I'm so sorry."

Scorpius didn't pretend that she was referring to Teryn and Edgar's lack of open and honest communication. "I'm not giving up on him. He uses the Knights for business connections. He isn't part of the inner circle."

Rose didn't say, "Yet," but he could see the word trembling on her lips.

Felix whimpered at the Niffler door.

Scorpius sat up. He and Rose went to see what was on the terrace. They discovered a brown owl perched on the back of a chair. It had an official looking message case attached to its leg.

"The Owl Post Office isn't open," Rose said.

"Someone is unaware of that, or thinks we don't know." He unbuckled the clasps on the case and removed the parchment scroll. The owl launched itself into the air. "The sender told the owl to leave without waiting for an answer."

"Or a treat."

Scorpius unrolled the parchment. "It's from Teryn." He handed it to Rose.

"Don't you want to read it?"

"I know what it says. She forgot she's scheduled to work late tomorrow and can't go to dinner."

Rose read the note. "She also says she's very sorry."

"Teryn added that," Scorpius said. "The rest is Edgar."

"He forced her to write it?"

"Persuaded."

Rose made a face. "I don't want to imagine how."

Neither did Scorpius. "He probably only had to ask."

"Teryn does seem to do anything Edgar wants." Rose put a hand on her hip when Scorpius's lips curved. "I'd bore you to tears if I was that kind of girlfriend."

"Partner, and I was thinking that in certain areas, I'm happy to do anything you want."

"Oh." For a moment, she looked like she might be willing to take him up on that offer, but then she shook her head slightly—probably telling herself not to be distracted—and said, "What are we going to do about it?"

He asked, "What do you want to do about it?"

Her eyes flashed like blue lightning. "I want to take Teryn out to dinner and show Edgar he can't control her!"

"Then let's do it." He moved to the lounger and patted the cushion beside him. "We can watch Antares while we plot." He whistled and Felix ran over and jumped onto his lap. "Pet Felix. I've been told it reduces stress."

Rose tried not to smile, and like a pout, it made her lips purse in a way that made him want to kiss her. Scorpius shelved that thought for later and put Felix on her lap when she stretched out beside him. While she petted the Niffler, he watched Antares pop his head up from his burrow. "I have an idea."

"You want to wait until Teryn pops her head out of her burrow, hit her with a  _Confundus_  Charm and remind her that we're having dinner?"

"Something less bold." Although he admired Rose's willingness to use any means to achieve her goal. "You owl George and ask when Teryn's shift ends, and we'll arrive at the shop before that and persuade her to go to dinner."

"Persuade her, how? With your Slytherin charm?"

"I appreciate the compliment, but no. We'll persuade her with the one thing she can't resist."

Rose smiled. "Felix."

 

George owled that Teryn had asked to switch to a later shift, so she was staying until the shop closed at eight o'clock. Scorpius and Rose met at the flat after work, changed clothes, and took Felix to play in a Muggle park before strolling down Diagon Alley and entering Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes at ten before eight.

"Whatever your dog breaks, you buy!" George called out. He resumed selling a box of Canary Creams to a customer.

Teryn rushed up to them. "You brought Felix to see me! That was so nice of you!" She looked more mature in her employee attire of Gryffindor red collared shirt embroidered with the WWW logo and black trousers than she had in a dressing gown. Her delight over seeing Felix was the same. "Hello, sweetie!"

"We took him to the park nearby and thought since we haven't had dinner yet, we'd stop in and ask you to join us," Rose said. She took off Felix's Appearance Charm collar.

"There's a new restaurant, Panis, across from Gringott's that we want to try," Scorpius said. "I read they have terrace seating, and a grilled miso & tamarind steak that's browned on the sides and bright red in the middle."

Teryn sucked in a breath at the mention of steak. Werewolves were the ultimate carnivores.

"I prefer my steak pink in the middle," Rose said, "I'm going to try the yoghurt-marinated lamb chops."

Teryn's stomach audibly rumbled. She pressed a hand over it. "You're making me hungry."

"We'll eat steak and tell Rose what she's missing," Scorpius said.

"Please join us," Rose added. Her puppy dog eyes would have worked on him, but Teryn wasn't as susceptible.

Scorpius held Felix out to her. "He'll be your lap warmer."

A witch holding a bag with the gold foil wrapped Canary Creams box sticking out at the top walked by them on her way out of the shop.

George strolled over. "Did I hear steak mentioned? Angelina's stuck in a Harpies management meeting, and I'm nothing but skin and bones." He made his stomach pooch out. "And fat."

Scorpius looked at Rose. He could tell that she had the same idea.

She said, "Why don't you both join us for dinner?" Teryn could tell Edgar that her boss had asked her come along. How could she turn down his invitation?

"Sounds good to me," George said. "I'll close up shop."

"You can hold Felix," Scorpius said to Teryn.

She reached for the Niffler.

 

The Panis terrace was a remodelled side alley that used espaliered fruit trees and shrubbery trained to grow flat to create a decorative focal point out of the neighbouring building's expanse of brick. Copper hanging lanterns and Illumination Orbs encased in balls made of antiqued copper wire provided soft light.

"Très posh," George said after they were seated and ordered drinks and chorizo scotched quail eggs as their "bites" before dinner. "I'll have to bring Angie here and impress her with my suave-ness."

"She'll love it," Teryn said wistfully.

Scorpius realised that Edgar probably took his girlfriend to hole in the wall places that no pure-blood would be caught dead in—if he took her anywhere.

"Oops, almost spilled my wine," Rose said. The look she gave him answered his silent question. Yes, she was once again distracting others from noticing his less-than-amiable facial expression.

He asked George, "Did you make a decision on whether or not to reformulate Plain Jane Potion? I was thinking that if you modified the taste and renamed the potion, you could sell to customers who fancied being incognito for a few hours. Celebrities, Ministry officials."

"Lovers keeping it a secret," George said. When no one responded, he said, "I'm not promoting infidelity."

"But you'd profit from it," Rose said.

George grinned. "I take no responsibility if customers misuse my products. Says so in fine print on every label."

Scorpius said, "That's an idea. You could take the Plain Jane Potions in the storage room and change the labels to Incognito Potion. If someone really wants his or her appearance disguised, they'll live with the sour apple taste."

"Where would we put it in the shop?" George asked Teryn.

She said, "I could create a display by the checkout till."

"To encourage last minute impulse buys. I'll switch the labels tomorrow."

The server delivered the soft boiled quail eggs wrapped in chorizo, breaded and fried, and then cut in half to display the white and yolk of the egg.

George asked, "Got any mustard?"

Dinner conversation was a mix of George and Teryn talking about memorable sales and customers, Rose sharing stories of Ministry training, and Scorpius answering Teryn's questions that were really about Edgar.

_Were your friends surprised that you got a Niffler? Did they like him? Did Felix and their pets, if they had pets, get along?_

Edgar's mother considered pets dirty and disease ridden, so Scorpius had never brought Felix when he went to the Goyles' house to play. His best mate avoided Felix because of his rat tail. Edgar swore he wasn't afraid of rats, but he'd been proven a liar when he opened the trunk of the Rent-a-Boggart.

"What?" George cried. He pointed his fork with a hunk of steak on it at Scorpius. "You can rent a Boggart? Why did no one ever tell me this?"

"Probably because it's illegal," Rose said.

Teryn glared at Scorpius. "Did you make your best mate cry?"

"No. He cursed and said the rat's willy had dragon pox, which was so funny we started laughing and the Boggart went back in the trunk." He smiled. "At the time, I thought the man who owned the Boggart said 'ridiculous,' because he thought it was funny, too, but he must have cast the spell  _Riddikulus_."

"I remember how jealous I was that Dad got to fight a real Boggart in Defence Against the Dark Arts, not just pair up and take turns pretending to be one," Rose said.

"Educational standards are really in decline." George's teasing expression became reflective. "Too bad the Ministry never hired another Remus Lupin."

Teryn said, "I wish I could've gone to Hogwarts."

Unlike Remus Lupin, Teryn didn't have a Headmaster willing to give a werewolf the same opportunities as "normal" witches and wizards. When their young server, Mark, came around to check on them, Scorpius gestured to Teryn and told him, "We're here to celebrate our friend's birthday."

"I'll get the staff to sing Happy Birthday," Mark replied.

"She'd prefer the Hogwarts School Song."

"We've never had that request before!" Mark's face fell. "I don't think any of us remember all the words."

Rose opened her handbag and gave Scorpius paper and a quill. He wrote down the song and asked, "How many copies?"

"Uh, six," Mark said.

Rose cast a duplication spell. "No extra flick this time," she said as Mark hurried off to assemble the "Birthday crew."

"Yes, save it for special occasions," Scorpius replied.

Teryn asked, "What does an extra flick do?"

Scorpius said, "It makes the earth move."

"And that's all I need to hear," George said firmly, although he seemed amused.

The Panis servers gathered with song lyrics in hand, and sang:

_Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,_

_Teach us something please . . . ._

Teryn clapped the loudest at the end, and Mark gave her his copy of the lyrics. She exclaimed, "You wrote the date and drew a fairy cake with a candle. How sweet!"

Scorpius exchanged a look with Rose. More likely, Mark was sweet on Teryn. The server's face reddened. He asked what dessert he could bring them.

"Which is your favourite?" Teryn asked.

Mark said, "They're all good."

"Bring one of each, then." Scorpius said. "We'll share."

When they finally left the restaurant, Scorpius hailed a Squire Cab to take Teryn home while the others chatted by the lamp post. George, after pretending that he couldn't suck in his belly anymore, said he'd ask Angie to help him burn off calories and Disapparated.

"Thank you for everything," Teryn told them. She hugged him and Rose and kissed Felix's snout.

The Squire Cab screeched to a halt beside the kerb. Scorpius paid the cabbie and he and Rose returned Teryn's wave as the cab zoomed away.

Rose said, "That was thoughtful of you, giving Uncle George the idea to turn Plain Jane into Incognito Potion. Do you think Teryn and Edgar will use it to go out on her birthday?"

"Yes."

"You don't seem happy. Do you feel like you're promoting infidelity?"

"No." If Edgar's infidelity promoted divorce, Scorpius was all for it. He said, "It's where they'll go that I'm concerned about."

"You don't think . . . ."

Scorpius said, "We need to practice Legilimency as well as Occlumency. If Edgar brings Teryn to the party, I want to know about it."


	32. Malfoy Men

 

The next morning, Sendak said, "Go see boss" when Scorpius entered the lobby of Malfoy Enterprises.

Scorpius stopped beside the security desk. "How did he phrase it? See him right away, or see him before going to my office?"

"Second."

"Excellent. I have time to ask if you'd like to provide security at a party on Saturday."

Sendak nodded.

Scorpius pulled an envelope out of an inner jacket pocket. "Here are the details and advance payment. The payment is in case Eke had other plans." He chose to interpret the slight rumbling noise the troll made as respect for his cleverness, not amusement at Slytherin cunning. He bid Sendak good day.

In the corner office on the executive floor, Grandfather Lucius waved for him to have a seat and continued to press the Malfoy seal into wax on an envelope. He handed the letter to Mrs. Tacit. "Deliver this personally."

"Right away, Mr. Malfoy." She serenely bustled past Scorpius with a murmured, "Good morning, sir."

"Good morning." Once the door shut, Scorpius asked, "Secret business acquisition?"

"Something more imperative."

Scorpius sat in one of the grey and black Houndstooth chairs that seemed designed to put visitors on the edge of their seats. "Instructions for your tailor?"

"On your behalf." Lucius smirked at Scorpius's surprise. "Even a Malfoy must give a tailor notice when he requires new dress robes." He paused, and then asked, "You  _do_ intend to wear dress robes on Saturday."

Scorpius hadn't planned on it.

His grandfather's expression iced over. "As a Malfoy, you are expected to uphold certain traditions." When Scorpius didn't argue, he said, "You don't have to keep the robes on all night. Wearing them to greet your guests will be sufficient."

For whom? The Knights of Walpurgis? Scorpius asked, "Is this the tailor who made the last set of robes you gave me?"

"He is. Wizards belonging to noble houses may frequent Twilfitt & Tattings for everyday attire, but for special occasions, only robes from Sartorius will do."

"Does he offer the same hidden Trackingbrall option with dress robes?"

"The same . . . ." His grandfather's jaw clenched. "You wouldn't allow me to have your robes pressed."

"I had Sendak step on them when you left. The micro-Trackingbrall was sewn into the hem. The placement wasn't clever enough for you to have ordered it."

Lucius inclined his head in acknowledgment of the backhanded compliment. "Why didn't you inform me of this earlier?" Before Scorpius could answer, his grandfather said, "You hoped it wouldn't happen again like the Fanged Frisbee incident."

Scorpius, age seven, had touched the teeth of his new Fanged Frisbee without handler's gloves on and received a bite. He'd worried that his grandfather wouldn't play catch with him if he showed the wound, so he put on the gloves and went outside. After a few passes back and forth, enough blood had soaked into the right glove for the Frisbee to turn savage and gnaw at the leather. Lucius had disposed of the Fanged Frisbee and used a Healing Charm on Scorpius's wound.

"I had Stevens purchase Weasley Fanged Flyers after that," Lucius said.

"You won't have to change tailors. Sartorius is the Master Tailor. I'm sure he designs the patterns and others cast the Sewing Spells."

"Not for my robes."

"Other employees still had the means and opportunity, unless your clothing is locked away in a vault."

Lucius drummed his fingers the arm of his chair. "I'd suspect Aurors of infiltrating the shop, but I daresay none of them would be able to cross the Blood Line at the threshold. The clientele and staff are pure-bloods only." He frowned. "I'm forced to agree with you. An underling betrays his master for gain."

"And not only at the tailor's."

"Yes, I'd managed to work that out." The edge in his grandfather's voice promised to make the knight who had acted against his grandson pay.

Scorpius nodded. They would find the employee who sewed Trackingbralls into robes and go from there. He said, "I won't wear black."

The change of subject returned the warmth to his grandfather's face. "Agreed. You're my heir, not a schoolboy. I wouldn't suggest green, either. Guy Willoughby already overworks the colour. I told Sartorius that you would prefer something in blue. We'll visit him before going to lunch to choose the fabric."

"Will Sartorius help us with our enquiry?"

"With enthusiasm." Lucius checked his watch. "We'll meet downstairs at eleven-thirty."

 

Sod's Law that anything that could go wrong would do so with the worst possible outcome ensured that Scorpius's eleven o'clock meeting was with the Head of Legal Affairs. His father strolled into his office at five before the hour.

"Nothing exciting to report. Let's go to lunch."

Scorpius came around the desk and turned one grey leather visitor's chair to face the other. "I've already made plans, but let's talk for a few minutes." He visualised a chest of thoughts and feelings hidden in a snowbank.

Draco repositioned the second chair and sat. "No lingering ill effects from the party, I trust."

"I've been practicing Occlumency."  _And Legilimency._  Scorpius silently cast the spell. It took more concentration without a wand. His father's eyes widened slightly, and Scorpius carefully reached for the memory of Astoria half leading, half dragging her husband out of the flat.

_In the lift, mirrored walls showed Draco's face crumpling. His lips formed the words, "I'm like Bellatrix. Hurting people." Astoria shook her head and kissed him._

Scorpius let the memory float away.

Draco shivered. "I tried to see what happened after I left the party and received a chill for my efforts."

"Did you sense my Legilimency Spell?"

"No. What did you see?"

"You and Mum after the party in the lift. You told her you were like Bellatrix." The alarmed expression on his father's face made him add, "That's all I saw."

"Good. I mean, good job." Draco leaned forward, hands clasped between his knees. "Try it again."

_Draco stood outside a closed shop near St. Mungo's Hospital. His reflection in the dusty window was teenaged and gangly. The door opened, and his father strolled out, cane held at a jaunty angle. Lucius frowned at his son._

It wasn't hard for Scorpius to "read" what Lucius said.

_"Pouting again? At least you're consistent."_

Scorpius released the memory like a feather. It drifted down. Suddenly, his father's mind was like a room filled with mirrors. How would Jack Frost discover which one hid thoughts? Scorpius exhaled. His breath became fog in the chilly room and drifted toward one of the mirrored panels. He reached out. All at once, each mirror reflected a small boy crying because there was no Father Christmas. He closed his eyes. "I was four. You could have asked Grandfather to wait a year or two."

"He didn't consult me. I think he was jealous of a fat, fictional Muggle."

"Father Christmas was based on a real person who did good deeds." In his mind's eye, the snowbank concealing his thoughts was now further protected by a layer of ice. He asked, "Did you ever consider that Aunt Bellatrix's methods of Occlumency weren't the only ones? That you could choose your own? I didn't, until recently." He said, "Occlumency, if taught at all, is mostly passed from one wizard or witch to another. Each person probably thinks their method is the proper one."

"That doesn't excuse bullying."

"You were defending yourself the only way you knew how. You can learn a new one."

Draco smiled. "Every time I start to worry that Lucius has too much influence over you, I hear Astoria in your voice."

"Not literally, I hope."

After chuckling at his dry tone, his father said, "I saw snow when I tried to penetrate your mind. Is that your defence?"

Scorpius nodded. "If you put your thoughts and feelings in a box or chest—"

"I use a Capacious Bag. That way there's always room for more."

"You must hide it behind the mirrors."

"Behind a row of furs in a wardrobe hidden behind the walls of mirrors."

The description struck a chord. "Does the wardrobe lead to the land of Narnia?"

"No, the wardrobe belongs to your grandmother. She always claimed she could never find anything in it, so I thought that was the best place to hide my bag."

Sound reasoning. "If the mirrors alone don't work, perhaps all you need to do is change what you reflect in them. Instead of trying to repel someone aggressively—"

"Bully them."

Draco would never totally forgive himself for the past. Sometimes, he would fixate on it. Scorpius had learned from his mother that keeping the conversation moving forward at those times was the best response. "You could project something else."

"Such as?"

"Something about the person trying to use Legilimency. Reflect the person's image. Focus on something you admire about them. Disarm them."

Draco sat upright and nodded. "Let's try it."

_Scorpius was in the room of mirrors. Each one reflected him dancing with Rose, sliding his hands down her back. They whispered and laughed together._

Scorpius broke eye contact. "It doesn't take dancing skill to sway back and forth."

"I admire how easily you display affection."

"I had affectionate parents."

Draco gave a lopsided smile. "I tried to be the father I'd always wanted." Wry amusement replaced wistfulness. "But when you were little and asked me to carry you down Diagon Alley, I had to fight the urge to hand you over to your mother."

Scorpius grinned. "Don't forget the times I made you and Mum hold my hands and lift me up, up, up as we walked."

"I won't."

His father had the same kind of "I love you, son" look on his face that had followed a hug at the party. Scorpius glanced at his watch. "I'd better get going. I'm glad we had the chance to talk."

"Me too." Draco rose to his feet. "Shall I hold your hand on the way to the lift for old times' sake?" He laughed at Scorpius's grimace. "I couldn't resist. That's the Malfoy coming out." He winked. "I'll show myself to the door."

Scorpius shook his head over his father's idea of humour and retrieved his wizard robes. He Flooed to the lobby.

Draco and Lucius faced off to the right of the security desk—out of Sendak's hearing. Scorpius quickly joined them.

"You never stop," Draco said.

Lucius caught sight of Scorpius and said, "Your son is now of age. He makes his own decisions."

"Guided by you." Draco asked Scorpius, "Are you aware that Sartorius only works for pure-bloods?"

"Yes."

"Pure-bloods belonging to the Knights of Walpurgis?"

"Obviously," Lucius drawled. "Since I'm his best client."

"They're designer robes, not a declaration of ideology," Scorpius said.

"Like the Walpurgis Club is just a place to eat."

Scorpius gripped the wand in his pocket and cast a Legilimency spell. He brought up an image of the two of them talking in his office. He saw Draco smile and read his lips, but his father would hear:

_Every time I start to worry that Lucius has too much influence over you, I hear Astoria in your voice._

Scorpius said. "Don't worry about me. We're simply ordering robes and having lunch. Everything's fine." He brought another memory to the surface. The one his father saw at the party: the fireball blasting his initials off the granite wall honouring the Knights of Walpurgis.

"All right," Draco said slowly. "You're of age. You make your own decisions." He turned on his heel and left.

"And he didn't even pout," Lucius said. "You must have cast a Compulsion Charm." He held up his hand. "Don't tell me. I want complete deniability if he owls your grandmother." He strolled to the door. Outside, he led Scorpius to the side alley. "Hold on. I'll do the Apparating."

 

Scorpius wasn't surprised to step from nothingness onto the pavement in front of the same closed shop he'd seen in his father's memory. He had brought it up to find out what Draco knew about Sartorius.

Lucius opened the door and walked in. When Scorpius followed, an invisible force thrust him back. It was more than a Blood Line. It felt like a test. Would he fight or accept rejection? Scorpius leaned in with his shoulder and pushed. A heartbeat later, he stood inside the empty shop.

"Well done. Draco never had such determination and strength."

That was why his father had waited outside the shop. He hadn't forced his way inside. "You mean he wasn't a stubborn bastard who insisted on having his way."

Lucius smiled wickedly. "Would you rather be outside looking in?"

Scorpius glanced at the door leading to what he presumed was the actual tailor's shop. "Technically, we're still outside."

The door opened. A house-elf that made Kreacher seem youthful bowed and said in a raspy voice, "Master Sartorius welcomes you." He turned and shuffled down a corridor. The pillowcase the elf wore like a toga was striped in faded colours of varying widths.

"Aren't Roman stripes supposed to be brighter colours?" Scorpius asked his grandfather.

Lucius shrugged. "Long ago, I'm sure his were."

They trailed the house-elf down a corridor painted to give the illusion that the walls were made of marble blocks of different colours and patterns. The elf opened a door. "Master Sartorius will join you shortly."

The reception room was decorated with murals that gave viewers the impression of looking from inside a building to a scene outside. One scene portrayed a middle-aged wizard buying cloth in a marketplace. He was draped in the off-white toga of a Roman citizen. Another mural showed a medieval wizard holding an enormous pair of shears. On a third wall, a Renaissance tailor adjusted a wide black ruff around a client's neck. The face of each tailor was identical. Olive-skinned and gaunt. The dark hair cut short. A ring with a carnelian seal stone on the tailor's hand.

Scorpius said, "Your tailor is either a narcissist or a vampire."

"Why not both?" The subject of the murals stood next to Scorpius, wearing impeccably cut wizard robes. Scorpius hadn't heard the door open. The tailor was shorter than he'd expected.

Sartorius said, "The minimum height requirement for the Roman Legion was 170 centimetres, but the average height of the populace was a mere 160."

Had the tailor read his expression or his thoughts? Scorpius pulled his mental defenses in place and avoided direct eye contact. "You sound English," he said.

"I have lived in London since the days of Gaius Julius Alpinus Classicianus." Sartorius gestured to the first mural. His signet ring had a carnelian seal stone. "The Procurator requested my assistance rebuilding trade after Queen Boudicca's army burnt the city to the ground."

The history the tailor had witnessed first-hand was incredible. He was a vampire, and yet he was awake during the day. Had it always been so, or did the need to sleep, or whatever the undead called it, fade as the centuries passed, or was it based on the strength of the vampire? Scorpius had so many questions. None of them, unfortunately, was relevant to their enquiry. He turned to his grandfather for assistance.

Lucius said, "We're here to discuss more than fabric for robes."

Scorpius envisioned hearing the metallic rustle of the micro, feather light Trackingbrall and examining the silvery remains on the hem of his robes after Sendak crushed it. He looked at Sartorius. The vampire's eyes glowed red. He said, "Come."

Sartorius swept out of the room, down the corridor, and through another door into a studio. He flung a hand toward a table covered with bolts of fabric. "Choose."

"This one." A glossy dark blue. Rose's eye colour deepened when they kissed.

"A top quality fabric," Sartorius said. "Wool and terylene. Crease-resistant and suitable for cool or warm weather."

"Miss Weasley will be flattered," Lucius said.

Scorpius said, "I'd like to order a tuxedo in the same fabric."

"Slim fit. Single button jacket. Black lapel, curved like a shawl collar on a smoking jacket. Elegant, yet modern." Sartorius nodded. "I'll assign the task to one of my assistants."

Before his grandfather could protest, Scorpius said, "Thank you." He didn't care who made the tuxedo.

Sartorius clapped his hands together. The house-elf appeared. "Bring Claudio to me." Within seconds, the elf returned with a young man who bore a strong resemblance to Sartorius and revealed sharp canine teeth when he yawned.

"Why have you summoned me, Great Uncle? You know I don't rise as early as you do." Claudio's tone was sleepy, but he kept his gaze on the floor.

In a blur of movement, Sartorius stood before his nephew and lifted his chin with a finger. "Confess and I will show mercy."

Claudio's knees buckled. Sartorius gripped his nephew's arms to hold him up as the younger man babbled, "I didn't go looking for it. He came to me. He delivered the blood one night and said he'd heard that I had a taste for dragon's blood and he could get it for me, any breed I desired, if I did a favour, one that nobody would ever know about, that wouldn't hurt anyone." His desperate gaze found Scorpius. "I put it in the hem so you'd find it. I didn't have to do that. I could have hidden it in a seam."

"Give us the wizard's name," Scorpius said.

"He didn't say."

Lucius snapped, "What did the man look like?"

"A blood bag. Not as pretty as you two."

Sartorius yanked his nephew close and bit his neck. "Sleep," he told Claudio when he'd finished drinking his blood. He stepped away and let his nephew drop to the floor.

"Claudio doesn't remember what the man looked like. Over-indulgence in dragon's blood causes memory loss." Sartorius accepted a handkerchief from the house-elf and wiped the blood off his mouth. "He left out that the wizard flashed a gold Ministry badge and threatened to report him for illegal blood trafficking if he didn't cooperate."

"The badge could have been faked," Lucius said.

"Or real," Scorpius replied.

His grandfather tossed him a quelling look.

Scorpius asked Sartorius, "Is there a cure for dragon's blood addiction?"

"Some call it that."

The image of Claudio, curled into a ball on the floor of a dungeon cell, shaking and crying, flashed before Scorpius's eyes.

"Sympathy for the one who betrayed you. What an unusual Slytherin you are," Sartorius said. He checked his timepiece. "My next client is arriving. Tulli, measure young Mr. Malfoy before escorting the Malfoys out. I will, of course, expedite your orders, Lucius." He picked up his nephew like a bolt of fabric and Disapparated.

Once they left the shop, Scorpius asked, "Is there a list of Ministry workers who belong to the Knights of Walpurgis?"

"I can hardly ask for it without raising suspicion. I have to be more discreet."

Scorpius understood, but he didn't face the same restraints as his grandfather. He could ask Harry Potter.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to call this chapter Slytherin Style, but I couldn't resist Malfoy Men. I also couldn't resist giving Scorpius Daniel Craig's blue tuxedo from the film Skyfall. He has to be the best dressed wizard at the party! Next chapter: Occlumency fun and Q & A with Harry. Anyone wondering whether Albus will be left out or be let in on what's been happening will find out.


	33. Dress Rehearsal

 

Rose agreed that they should ask Harry for the list of Knights of Walpurgis members working for the Ministry. Since they didn't want to ask in front of Albus, and Ginny might read a letter, Rose sent her Patronus. They were eating dinner when a silvery stag Patronus materialised on the terrace.

He and Rose both heard the message.

_I'll trade it for your guest list._

The stag faded away.

"Why would Uncle Harry want to know who's coming to our party?" Rose asked. "Any classmate who works for the Ministry is a trainee, not a security threat."

"Perhaps they suspect a Ministry employee attending as a date is leaking information."

"That seems unlikely."

"I agree. This is a probably a test." Would they make the trade? Play by Super Wizard's rules?

Scorpius pushed back his chair and went into the master bedroom for his wand. He drew circles in the air, concentrating on the happiness he'd felt making up with Rose on the guest room rug at Grimmauld Place.  _"Expecto Patronum!"_  A mongoose Patronus formed and shot like a comet into the night.

Rose entered the bedroom. "You couldn't wait to tell him no? What if Uncle Harry's eating dinner with Aunt Ginny?"

"He can share the second part of the message. I saw an article on naan bread pizza in the  _Daily Prophet's_  food section and wanted to know if he and Albus liked smoked salmon and caviar."

"On pizza?"

"There's no tomato sauce. You use crème fraiche." Rose's expression had shifted from annoyance to amusement as he spoke. Scorpius asked. "What is it? Someone's allergic to caviar?"

"Aunt Ginny loves it. We should expect three for dinner. Four, if Albus invites Merry since his mum's tagging along."

"I'll adjust my shopping list." He'd add arugula, red onion, and mozzarella in case Merry, an avowed flexitarian, was eating strictly vegetarian that week. Crème fraiche was drizzled over both pizzas. Scorpius noticed Rose gazing at him questioningly. He said, "Our shopping list."

"It isn't that. You didn't read the paper at breakfast."

"Mrs. Jamieson brought me a copy this afternoon when I was between meetings." Rose's lips took on the hint of an envious pout. The day of a Ministry trainee was more regimented than a student's at Hogwarts. He said, "Pure, Twilfitt and Tattings, and Madam Malkin's are advertising sales."

" _Pure?_  Do you really think I'd wear a dress from Orna Bletchley's shop?"

"That was a joke."

"Then why am I not laughing?" She narrowed her eyes when he raised his wand. "Don't you dare cast a Tickling Charm!"

He wriggled his fingers. "I'll do it the Muggle way."

_"Locomotor Wibbly!"_

His legs collapsed.

_"Inpello!"_

Rose's spell pushed him onto the bed. She strolled over and took his wand. "Did you forget you were holding this?"

He shook his head and silently cast  _Deturbo_  to cause her to fall forward. She landed on top of him, bracing her hands on the white duvet. Scorpius wondered if it was one of her mother's yoga positions. Downward Gryffindor. He asked, "Did you forget that you were holding a wand?"

"No." They shared a smile. Rose said, "I have a couple of fancy dresses in the wardrobe at Mum and Dad's that I've never worn." At his raised eyebrow, she said, "Lily pressured me into buying them and I thought they were too sexy, but either of them is suitable."

"I want you to look breathtaking."

"To match you?"

"My tuxedo. It's going to be spectacular."

She kissed him. "If you want, we can go look at the dresses."

 

Ron Weasley answered the door. He was still dressed in a WWW logo shirt and held a half-eaten pastry in one hand: a samosa, by the peas and minced lamb showing. Ron backed into the entry. The sharp scent of cumin and other curry spices filled the air.

Rose said, "Hi, Dad. I need to get a dress from my wardrobe."

Hermione walked in from the dining room. "Have you eaten?"

"Yes, Mum."

"We had chicken wings from a Nigerian takeaway," Scorpius said, overcome by the urge to prove that they had actually eaten, and he wasn't looking to avoid another family dinner.

"Nigerian chicken wings," Ron said. "Are they spicier than the ones Granddad Granger makes?"

"A bit," Rose said.

"Did you have anything for afters?" Hermione asked. "Your father bought salted caramel kulfi."

Rose's face lit up. Scorpius had never tried Indian ice cream. He said, "It shouldn't take long to pick out a dress."

Hermione smiled. "We'll wait to have kulfi."

On the way upstairs, Rose said, "You'll like it. Kulfi is creamy and solid, like a custard ice cream. Usually it's frozen in little moulds, like cones, but they sell it to us in litre tubs."

"I'm surprised I haven't read about it in the paper.  _Weasleys Keen on Kulfi_."

"Shhh, Dad will hear you and start ranting that we aren't celebrities. No one should care what we eat. I've heard that speech too many times to want to hear the latest version." She hurried to her room and pulled him inside before leaning against the door and breathing an exaggerated sigh of relief.

Scorpius glanced at the four poster bed with its lacy pillows and net curtains. "I wonder if the wizard's handshake is still in effect."

"Only if you still believe touching me is taking advantage."

The first time they'd kissed and cuddled on the sofa downstairs, his hand had stung with pins and needles. After returning from the holiday gone wrong on the island, Scorpius had sneaked into her bedroom, and their kisses had led to caresses –and the agony of invisible fire burning the nerve endings in his hand. Scorpius curled the fingers that once twisted into a claw. "The pain was self-inflicted?"

Rose locked the door. "I'm sorry I didn't realise it sooner." She unbuttoned her blouse. "If you trust me, I'll prove it to you."

He said, " _Evanesco._ " Her blouse disappeared. So did her bra, but this time it wasn't an accident.

Rose crossed her arms over her chest. "If we're re-enacting what happened, you should take off your shirt."

He moved closer. "And we should be kissing on the bed."

She put her hands on her hips. "Fine. It's an experiment, not a re-enactment. Is your hand tingling?"

He traced her mouth with his fingertips. "In a good way."

Rose wrapped her arms around him. He caressed her back.

"Ready to experiment?" she asked.

"I don't need to. You're right. We weren't lovers, and you weren't on birth control potion, so I believed I was taking advantage, which was rather sexist now that I think about it. I apologise."

Her face was soft with sympathy. "You don't have to."

"The apology wasn't for being sexist." He trailed his fingers to her sides. "It was for this." He tickled her.

Rose shrieked with laughter.

Footsteps pounded up the stairs.

Rose said, "You stall him while I put on a dress."

Scorpius watched her step out of the navy trousers she'd worn to work. She shook her head at him, whispering fiercely, "I'm not stripping for your enjoyment!"

"Later, then?"

She fought a smile and lost. "You should strip for me."

The reverberating slam of a fist against the door wiped the grin off Scorpius's face. He unlocked the door and opened it enough for Ron to see him and nothing else. "Rose and I were debating whether Muggle tickling methods were as effective as a Tickling Charm. I tried to prove they weren't." He held up his right and hand and wriggled his pain-free fingers. "I lost."

Rose called out. "I wasn't expecting him to actually tickle me. Sorry, Dad."

Ron said slowly, "That's OK. Did you find a dress, Rosie?"

" _A_  dress," she said, "but I'm not sure it's  _the_  dress. Why don't you two give me your opinion?"

Scorpius opened the door all the way and turned to see Rose wearing a stretchy, form fitting dress that ended mid-thigh. At first glance, it looked like skin was showing through black lace instead of a nude fabric.

"Absolutely not," Ron said. "That's practically lingerie."

"Really?" Rose shot back. "How would you know? Been shopping Siren's Secret for Mum?"

"Maybe."

Rose's eyes widened comically.

Scorpius asked, "You have another dress?"

"Why? You don't like this one?"

"I like it a lot."

Ron said, "Let's give Rosie privacy to try on the other dress."

In the corridor, Scorpius and Ron leaned against opposite walls.

"Don't look at anything below her neck when I'm around, remember?" Ron asked grimly.

Scorpius instantly recalled Harry Potter's dating advice. He said, "Hard to give an opinion on a dress I don't see."

Light footsteps on the stairs were followed by Hermione walking towards them. "Everything all right?"

"Rosie's trying on a dress," Ron said. His expression warned Scorpius not to say anything else.

Hermione tapped on the door. "Need any help?"

After a few moments of silence, Rose answered, "Could you send Scorpius in?"

"For what?" Ron growled.

Hermione said, "His opinion, darling."

Scorpius ducked into the room. The wardrobe door was open all the way, a barrier between him and Rose. He glanced down to see her toes and the hem of a floor length gown that glittered with platinum sequins. He said, "What I can see under the door looks lovely."

"It's got the same kind of flesh toned backing as the other dress," Rose said. "This one isn't as clingy, but it's strapless, and there's a high slit that shows a lot of my thigh when I walk."

The mental images were arousing. "I'd love to see it."

She closed the wardrobe door.

His breath caught in his throat. Her dress was elegant and sexy as hell.

Rose said, ""You like it more than the other one, don't you?"

He nodded. "But take them both."

_Tap! Tap!_

Hermione's voice rang out. "What's the verdict on the dress?"

"I'm going to wear it to the party!" Rose answered.

The door handle rattled and then stilled as if Ron had started to barge in and Hermione had stopped him. Ron said, "Don't you want to show us your dress, sweetheart?"

Scorpius didn't want to be in the room when that happened. He went to let Rose's parents in. "Is there a label on the kulfi?" he asked Hermione.

She said, "It's a plain white tub marked Mr. Ron. Give him three scoops."

He gave Ron four, and by the time they sat around the dining table with empty bowls, the tense atmosphere had relaxed considerably. Scorpius asked about the re-branding of Plain Jane into Incognito Potion, and Ron told him the shop would have a display to unveil Friday morning. Hermione asked Rose if she'd like to go get manicures together Friday afternoon.

"You should have time before our guests arrive," Scorpius said.

"You're throwing  _two_  parties this weekend?" Ron asked.

"We're having a few friends over." Scorpius turned to Rose. "We should order a litre of kulfi. Mango, if they have it."

"They should," Rose said. "It's a traditional flavour." She reached for Hermione's bowl. "Let us do the clearing up, Mum."

"I appreciate the thought, but it's only a few dishes."

Rose hugged her parents goodbye.

Scorpius picked up the garment bag holding her dresses. Once they were outside, he said, "Albus and Merry count as friends." He hadn't lied about having a few friends round, although it had felt like it. He'd brought up kulfi to keep from doing something mental like invite her parents to dinner.

"Mum has a talent for making you feel as guilty for what you don't tell her as what you actually say. I asked Dad if she'd learned the trick in Magical Law training, but he said she'd always had the knack." Rose's lips curved. "The ability might run in the family. I got the impression that there was something you wanted to say, but didn't, when you told me to take both dresses."

They were far enough away from the house for him to admit, "You were right."

"Well?" Rose said when he didn't elaborate. "What was it?"

He said, "If you wear the lace dress, I'll strip."

 

Scorpius always enjoyed taking off his clothes with Rose watching, but seeing her in the dress inspired him to throw in a few dance moves, which inspired her to take a participatory role in his "show." The memory brought a smile to his face whenever he thought about it afterwards. When she walked onto the terrace wearing the lace dress Friday evening, however, he frowned. "Why are you wearing that?" She wore high heels, too, drawing his gaze to her amazing long legs.

"For that reason."

"What?" He dragged his eyes to hers.

"My other dress is sexier. I'm helping you learn to control your, um, reaction, with systematic desensitization."

His gaze wandered over her. "Isn't that for phobias?"

"The same counter conditioning should work. We don't want to . . . eliminate . . . the response, just acknowledge it and put it away until later."

"That sounds like meditation," Scorpius said. "Wouldn't your mum acknowledge a thought and let it go?"

Rose's eyes flashed. "You aren't my mum!"

"Thank Merlin." He stopped teasing. "You're right. I want to save the thoughts for later, but I can't perform Occlumency and Legilimency if I'm distracted." He visualised his thoughts and emotions hidden in a chest covered with snow. He smiled a little. "There's a benefit to this method. Steamy thoughts sent to the chest melt snow and create protective layers of ice."

"What kind of steamy thoughts?"

Silently, he chanted, " _Legilimens_ " and created an image in her mind of him pressing her body against a wall. In the vision, between kisses, he said, "This is why I wanted you to wear nothing but high heels."

The vision changed to him shivering beneath a rain shower set to Polar Plunge. His lips were blue.

"Less steamy now?" Rose asked.

She laughed when he chattered his teeth as he said, "Y-yes."

 

The first guests to arrive were Harry and Ginny Potter. Harry wore jeans like Scorpius, while Ginny wore a casual dress that didn't make Rose's seem entirely out of place. Ginny handed him a salad bowl. "Since I invited myself, it was the least I could do. The salad is romaine lettuce and scoops of everything on the antipasto bar at McGregor's Market," she said wryly. "I was finishing a  _Quidditch Illustrated_  article and time got away from me."

"A player interview?"

"A player who became coach. Oliver Wood is celebrating his twenty-fifth year with Puddlemere United."

Harry said, "I still think of him as captain of the Gryffindor."

Rose had walked into the lounge from the terrace.

Scorpius said in an undertone, "She's wearing that dress to help me perform Occlumency despite distractions."

Harry and Ginny traded glances. Harry shrugged. "I've seen Lily wear worse."

Ginny said, "She probably picked it out."

The couple went to greet Rose. To their credit, they acted as though they didn't even notice what she was wearing.

Not so, Albus. The moment he strolled in with Merry, his eyes went to his cousin and his eyebrows shot up to his hairline. "Looking fit, Rosie."

Merry thrust a platter of crescent shaped biscuits dusted with icing sugar at Scorpius and made a beeline for Rose. "Don't mind Al, he's jealous because you haven't gained a stone from the canteen food like all the other Ministry trainees."

"I haven't gained a  _stone_ ," Albus said. "Anyways, I was underweight."

Scorpius used the brief eye contact to lift the memory of Albus mouthing curses as he sucked in his stomach to fasten his trousers while Merry, wrapped in a floral patchwork quilt, giggled. Scorpius looked away and met Harry's gaze. In the back of his mind, wind blew at the snow covering his chest of thoughts. Scorpius used the advice he'd given his father and projected something he admired about the man trying to use Legilimency.

_Harry Potter, sitting at picnic table surrounded by Weasleys, smiling and at ease._

"Are we ready to make pizzas?" Rose asked.

Scorpius said, "Absolutely."

By the end of dinner, he had used Occlumency to project reading an article by G. W. Potter, conjured an image of Merry and the Hufflepuff team flying across the Quidditch pitch, and recalled a moment at school when he'd been impressed with Albus's potions making skills. He'd been more subtle with his use of Legilimency. He'd lifted brief snippets of memories and snatched glimpses of thoughts.

_Harry standing in Teddy Lupin's kitchen, chugging a lager before pouring the rest down the sink . . . Merry writing a song . . . Rose hurling a fireball at the guest room door . . . Albus staring around the Forensics lab like a child on Christmas morning . . . Ginny giving Kreacher a newspaper clipping showing a photograph of a remarkably handsome baby: the birth announcement of Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy._

Only once had he used Legilimency to influence: he'd made Merry remember the time she'd gone on an all fruit reducing diet until she became ill at the sight of fruit. She hadn't been able to eat more than a bite of mango kulfi.

The fairy lights glowed on the terrace by the time they'd finished dessert.

"Time for an Occlumency lesson?" Albus asked.

Merry's brow creased. "I thought we were all helping Scorpius practice Occlumency by trying to use Legilimency to read his thoughts during dinner?"

Ginny said, "We were."

Albus told Merry, "But he wasn't supposed to know that."

Scorpius looked at Harry. "I'd guessed."

"You did well," Harry said. "The new tactic was effective."

Albus nodded. "Less chilly."

Harry lifted his lager bottle. "And your Legilimency was excellent." He smiled at Rose. "As was yours. It took a few seconds to realise why I was thinking about this." He gave her a folded square of parchment.

"Thank you," she said, "although to be fair, you were all distracted." Her husky voice gave Scorpius the impression that she'd seen some of his naughty thoughts before he'd put them away. He suppressed the urge to call an end to the evening so she could tell him which one she fancied the most.

The list in Rose's hand changed things. If Harry could make a gesture of good faith, Scorpius could too. He said to Albus and Merry, "Tomorrow night, we'd like your help."

 

 


	34. Slytherin Style

 

 

It was one thing to ask for help, and quite another to elaborate on exactly what kind of help he and Rose needed. Although Scorpius intended to use Legilimency here and there to gauge whether younger Slytherins really followed old ways, he didn't want an Auror trainee profiling his former classmates. He took the parchment from Rose, unfolded it, and gave it back to Harry. "We asked for this list because someone with a Ministry badge bribed a tailor to sew a micro Trackingbrall into my robes. Can you identify who would have had access?"

Harry scanned the list. "Any of them, potentially. Human Resources consults my department to ensure applicants who associate with certain groups are hired for low security positions, but they aren't put under surveillance. What's the tailor's name?"

Scorpius shook his head. "He wasn't the Master Tailor, only an associate."

Albus asked, "Why would anyone go out of his way to track you? He could do that by reading the papers."

"Trackingbralls now have Recordbrall capability," Scorpius said. "They can record voices—and transmit them, I presume." Sneakoscopes could be paired to make one a silent alarm that set off the other, remote device. Why not Recordbralls or the hybrid Trackingbralls?

"The micro Trackingbralls don't have listening device capability," Harry said. "George is still working on that."

"How did you learn about the new Trackingbralls?" Ginny asked. Her tone was friendly and casual.

"Harry and Ted," Scorpius said before it occurred to him that if she didn't know, he probably shouldn't have told her. "You would have made a good Auror," he said. "Did they try to recruit you?"

Ginny replied, "I said one Auror in the family was enough."

Merry gasped.

"Yes, I'm well aware that both my husband and son are Aurors," Ginny said dryly.

"I didn't mean that," Merry said. "I just thought of something." Her eyes were bright with excitement. "What if the person who wants to track Scorpius doesn't work for the Ministry? What if he's got a  _stalker_?"

Albus said, "You've got to stop reading witch in danger novels. Who would stalk him?"

"Orna Bletchley, his psycho ex-girlfriend."

"She wasn't his girlfriend."

"That's why she's psycho," Merry snapped. "It's all in her mind."

Scorpius thought Orna seemed happy enough with Guy Willoughby. He looked at Rose.

She said, "We can't rule her out."

Harry asked, "So what's the plan?"

Scorpius experienced an unsettling sense of déjà vu and then realised that he had been in this situation before. At the Burrow, it had been Hermione saying they'd follow his lead. Why did Gryffindors always expect instant plans? He said, "Rose and I were going to use Legilimency on guests with connections to the Knights of Walpurgis."

Harry said. "I'll help any way I can. If someone is stealing Trackingbralls from the Ministry, I want to find them."

"No other agenda?" Scorpius asked.

"You have my word."

Rose said, "I'll get the list."

Scorpius stood. He didn't pull back Rose's chair. She preferred to do that herself. Standing was a habit ingrained in him by his grandparents. A gentleman honoured a lady by standing when she left the table—unless she was ill or drinking heavily, and rising every time she dashed to the loo called attention to her indisposition. He continued standing because he enjoyed the view of Rose walking toward their bedroom.

A scrape of metal drew his attention to Albus, who stood and said, "Good idea. There's better light inside."

Scorpius picked up his and Rose's ice cream bowls. In the kitchen, he put them in the sink. "Thanks," he said to Albus, who had carried in the rest of the dishes. "I appreciated the timely distraction out there."

"Glad to help." Albus chuckled. "You reminded me of James when he first told me about his date with that model." He feigned a dazed expression. "She was . . . she was . . . amazing."

"Not to me," Scorpius said. "I met Karlie a year ago, and all she talked about was her famous friends. Rose is the one who's amazing."

"Seriously?"

Scorpius knew what Albus meant, had he really met Karlie, but he couldn't resist saying, "You should know. You're her best mate."

Albus smiled wryly. "Am I?"

"Rose thinks so."

"Does she? Lily always swore that she and Hugo were best mates forever, but the older she gets, the more she acts like she wants to swap him for Rose, and sometimes I wonder if Rosie feels closer to Lily." He glanced toward the doorway and asked in a hushed tone, "Will there be a photographer at the party?"

"I hired Crispin Pry."

"Could he take a picture of the four of us?"

_To send to Lily? "_ If you're willing to risk a Howler filled with itching powder."

Albus grimaced, but said, "Yeah."

"Consider it done."

 

They regrouped in the dining room. Scorpius adjusted the spells on the enchanted candles and illumination orbs to provide bright, non-romantic lighting. While Rose used a spell to make copies of the lists, he passed out quills. Once everyone had a quill and a copy of each list, he focused on trying to find connections between Slytherin classmates and Ministry employees. The air seemed to crackle with intensity. He asked Harry, "Is this how Aurors work on cases?"

"Sometimes. I can arrange a visit if you'd like to see for yourself."

"See what you  _might_ get to do after slogging through four years of training," Albus said. "Teddy mostly interviews nutters."

"Investigating citizen complaints helps junior Aurors hone their skills," Harry replied, although his eyes twinkled.

Scorpius circled a name on the list. "Aaron Rosier is the only one with an obvious motive. He's a second cousin in line to run Rosier Industries since Evan and Priscilla Rosier don't have children."

"A friend of yours?" Harry asked.

"He might say so." Once they were both Sorted into Slytherin House, Aaron had informed Scorpius that they should be mates because they were both heirs to noble families with profitable corporations. Scorpius had avoided him as much as possible but had never been impolite.

"Definitely stalker material," Merry said. "I don't know a lot of Slytherins by name, but I know Aaron Rosier. Even after I started going with Al, he kept asking me to meet him behind the Shrieking Shack on Hogsmeade weekends."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Albus asked. "I would've put a stop to it."

"No, you would've made him angry, and he would've tried even harder to get me to cheat on you. Slytherins have loads of pride. Isn't that right, Scorpius?"

"Yes." All those wizard tales of Slytherin greatness, he supposed.

Merry pointed to another name on the list. "Julian Pritchard asked me to meet him in an unused classroom on the first floor once. I think he and Aaron had a competition going."

Rose asked, "Is he related to your grandfather's solicitor?"

"His son." Graham Pritchard had taught Julian to be deferential to anyone named Malfoy. Scorpius had avoided him as much as Aaron. "He's training with his father, not the Ministry."

"So it's back to Aaron Rosier," Albus said.

Rose asked, "Is he an executive like you?"

"Management trainee."

"So he could be trying to prove his worth with corporate espionage," she said.

Merry giggled. "Or he has a thing for blondes."

"No more wine for her," Scorpius said absently, as he tried to understand Aaron's motivation for bribing someone at the Ministry to steal a Trackingbrall that didn't work as a listening device. If he'd found a wizard able to fix the glitches, what had he hoped to hear? "I wore the robes to the Walpurgis Club," Scorpius said. "I wasn't informed of Rosier Industries' offer to sell Iron Mountain Storage until after lunch."

"But no one knew that you weren't going to wear robes to the office like everyone else," Rose replied. "If Lucius had given them to you beforehand, Aaron could have listened to your meetings and your conversations with your father and grandfather."

_His conversations._ Scorpius's stomach twisted. The Knights of Walpurgis, despite their claims that all pure-bloods were superior, were feudal in hierarchy. Those at the top lorded over the rest of the vassals who were expected to serve. Leaders constantly vied with each other to gain the most alliances, wealth, and power, using any means to gain their ends.

"Here." Ginny conjured a goblet and stretched her arm across the table to hand it to him. "Sipping water helps balance emotions and supports mental clarity. Hermione told me that, and she's usually right."

"Thank you."

"The  _Intruder_ paid a Chaser on the reserve team to plant a Recordbrall in the Harpies' changing room once," she said. "Luckily she felt guilty and confessed before  _Harpies Say Harry Is Hot_ became a gossip column headline." She smiled sympathetically. "It's unsettling, the lengths some people will go to overhear your conversations, whether they're following you 'round a shop with Extendable Ears or using more sophisticated listening devices."

Harry said, "I can recommend counter-surveillance equipment."

Scorpius would see to it that Malfoy Enterprises invested in the technology. He asked, "May Rose and I speak with you in private?"

Albus said, "If it concerns the Auror department, I think I'm entitled to hear it."

Ginny stood. "Merry, why don't you and I go out to the terrace for a few minutes?"

The two women left the dining room.

Scorpius said, "There's another reason why someone would want to overhear my conversations." It seemed like a betrayal of a family secret, but they had to know. "My grandfather portrays himself as the undisputed head of Malfoy House, which strengthens his position in the Knights of Walpurgis. A recording of a family argument, proof that he isn't in complete control, would undermine his leadership." He looked at Harry. "If no one in the Auror Office cares about that, they should. My grandfather can be reasoned with. He remembers how it felt to be powerless in his own home, stripped of his wand. Self-preservation comes before any pure-blood agenda."

"I'll keep that in mind," Harry said.

"Can you tell me if anyone on the list is directly related to a member of the Knights' inner circle?"

Harry scanned the list again. "None that I'm aware of. Bletchley and Willoughby have too many business interests in common with Lucius to act against him, and Evan Rosier donates to the Knights' causes, but he's never been more than a sympathiser. He puts the welfare of his corporation above personal ideology and would require his heir to do the same." He stood. "I'm sorry I couldn't be more helpful. Good luck tomorrow night." He shook Scorpius's hand and told Albus. "No offense, son, but I'd limit Merry's contribution to distracting targets. You've just started teaching her Legilimency, and I'm afraid it shows."

When his dad left the room, Albus asked, "Is she really that bad?"

"Of course not," Rose said. "But we could tell that she was using Legilimency, and that might cause problems at the party."

Like a wizard duel on the dance floor. Scorpius told Albus, "She can distract Aaron while you search his memories."

Albus nodded. "I'll tell her you're distracting Orna for Rose."

 

The next day at the tailor's, Scorpius tried on his tuxedo and dress robes and smiled at the thought of distracting Rose with his appearance. He strolled out of the changing area concealed by the medieval mural panel in the reception room.

In a blur of motion, Sartorius rose from lounging in a chair to standing in front of his client. He said, "Tell me what you're thinking at this moment."

Scorpius replied, "The bloke who said 'manners maketh man' never wore clothing made by Sartorius."

The tailor beamed. "William of Wykeham said that. He was a Muggle with no sense of style." Sartorius gave Scorpius an approving once over. "I prefer clients who are both mannerly and stylish."

"And pure-blooded."

"Is that a comment or a question?"

"Both." Vampires lived through so much history. Did they really believe pure-bloods were superior to everyone else?

Sartorius held out his hand. "A wizard's handshake that you will never repeat what I tell you."

Scorpius shook his hand, gritting his teeth against the stinging sensation.

"You've done this before." Sartorius smiled. "To answer your question, I must ask one of my own. What kind of Firewhiskey does a man drink when he is young and poor?"

"Anything he can afford."

Sartorius inclined his head. "I am wealthy, old, and unimpressed by the lineage of bottles. I value the complexity and depth of what's inside. The distinct taste and smoothness from . . . recipes . . . that remain unchanged from yesteryear."

Pure-bloods weren't superior; vampires considered their blood superior  _tasting._  Scorpius laughed.

 

His good mood continued as he and Rose approached the Sleazy Kneazle later that evening. His "bat robes" as Rose called them, flared when he walked, making him feel like Severus Snape swooping through the corridors of Hogwarts. He curled his lip at Rose to make her giggle. She looked lovely in semi-sheer black dress robes that hinted at the dress beneath.

Sendak and the security troll allowing patrons to enter the Sleazy Kneazle stood talking in low rumbles in front of the entrance. Sendak wore his work robes. Somehow, he looked bigger and tougher than the security troll who showed off his bulky muscles in a leather vest.

"Everything secure?" Scorpius asked.

The pub troll lifted his hand to reveal the Probity Probe clutched in his meaty hand.

"Is now," Sendak said.

Scorpius and Rose entered the pub with Sendak. Zod met them at the ornate silver gilt doors to the Slytherin Room that, when not in use, regained the appearance of a battered stretch of wall. He wore a long green Cossack-style tunic robes with a silver fox fur hat. "Impressive," Scorpius said. "Is there a matching portrait inside?"

Zod puffed out his chest. "Warlock Zod has talented fans."

_"Zitomir! Bring them in!"_

"My wife, the soul of patience," Zod murmured. He opened the doors.

The Slytherin Room was larger than the Gryffindor Room: a proper ballroom originally put to improper use. Slytherins had thrown more extravagant parties, and paid to have the biggest and finest accommodations. Instead of heavy velvet, the fabric draping from a centre point above the massive chandelier to hang down the walls were alternating panels of green and silver silk. Groupings of modern white tables and chairs and intimate seating areas lined the two side walls. In the middle of the dance floor stood Annis, who wore a feminine version of Zod's outfit in black dragon hide. A green top hat perched on top of her wild mane of frizzy dark hair. She threw out her arms and cried in her deep voice, "Welcome to Cirque du Slytherin!"

Scorpius said, "You've outdone yourself."

Annis inclined her head and then swept off her top hat and bowed. "Bit different from the relaxed and casual atmosphere of the tavern, isn't it?" She grinned at her snickering husband and then turned her gaze to Rose. "Surprised, Miss Weasley?"

Rose said, "I did expect a Slytherin bordello room." She glanced around. "This is lovely."

"Ta, thanks. Have some food. Merlin knows when you'll have a change to eat. Hosts are always busy." Annis put her top hat back on and gestured to the long L-shaped bars facing each other from opposite walls to the left and right of the entrance. "Sushi or tapas. Which do you fancy?"

"I couldn't eat anything right now," Rose said. The Japanese sushi chefs seemed disappointed, while the hags behind the tapas bar shrugged.

"Then have a glass of champagne," Annis said. "The bar behind the DJ stage is from the bordello period. Hasn't had a refit since 1892. You'll love the etched mirrors." Annis pointed out the barmen manning the white portable bars she'd stationed near the tables. "Can't have guests queueing up for a drink."

"Scorpius!" Crispin Pry, presentable in a navy suit, strode into the ballroom.

"Go on, have a chat about photography," Annis said. "I'll explain the Slytherin circus fetish to Rose while Zod opens the champagne."

It wasn't a  _fetish._ "Most of us have a circus performer somewhere in our family tree," Scorpius said, "whether we acknowledge them or not."

"Snake charmers, illusionists . . . ." Annis linked her arm with Rose's arm and led her away.

"Don't forget the bearded ladies," Zod said as he trailed in their wake.

Scorpius joined Crispin, who stood at the Tapas bar eating a roasted fig with goat cheese.

Crispin said, "I tried Chef Itoh's squid sushi earlier when Annis and I were discussing lighting, so I promised the ladies that I'd be back to try their tapas." He smiled when the youngest-looking hag placed a dish of spiced almonds and a plate with a wedge of plum wrapped in Serrano ham in front of him. "I'll definitely mention the amazing food in my article."

"Excellent. Would you take a photograph of the four of us at the bar?"

"I'm here to work," Crispin said. He popped a few almonds into his mouth and adjusted his camera strap.

Albus and Merry arrived while Crispin was taking pictures with an off camera flash. Albus wore a classic black tuxedo, and Merry flaunted her love of Hufflepuff in a bright yellow evening gown. Since neither wore dress robes, Scorpius and Rose took theirs off before posing with the couple. After that, Crispin put up the flash and widened the aperture in his lens to take some candid shots, like Scorpius, Rose, and Albus jokingly touching glasses in a toast "to a successful evening." They meant successful Legilimency, which made it funnier when Annis and Zod said they'd drink to that.

"Don't worry. No photographs will end up in the  _Daily Prophet_  without your permission," Crispin said, grinning as he headed back to the tapas bar.

The DJ arranging Orpheus Orbs called out, "There's a troll in doorway looking for somebody."

"Thanks." Scorpius handed Rose her dress robes. "Time to greet our guests."

"We'll stay here and finish our drinks," Albus said.

Merry giggled. "Have fun!"

 

Surprisingly, Scorpius did enjoy shaking hands and greeting guests as they entered the ballroom. Orna and Guy were the first in line. They wore conservative black dress robes, but Scorpius looked into Guy's eyes and saw him modeling a lime green tuxedo for his girlfriend. He blinked.

"I know. You're used to me being a trendsetter," Guy said. He was obviously hoping to impress everyone when he took off his robes to dance. Scorpius made a mental note to congratulate him on his daring fashion sense later.

Nathaniel and his date were next. "Scorpius, you know Charlotte Byrne. She works for the club in accounting."

The brown haired girl said, "Nat, I'm sure he doesn't. I wasn't very memorable."

"On the contrary," Scorpius said. "You cast a Stunner on Bradley Urquahat at the last House party and left him on the floor like he'd passed out drunk. I was impressed."

Charlotte seemed flattered that he remembered, and Nathaniel looked at her wonderingly. Scorpius hoped that meant his friend was over Magaera Vane.

Whenever he could, Scorpius used Legilimency to snatch glimpses of thoughts. Most guests were genuinely excited to be there and curious about Rose, but didn't feel any ill will toward her. The exception was Kyle Pucey, a Slytherin Chaser and Knight of Walpurgis. After he introduced his date, Imogen, Kyle's eyes flickered between his hosts. Scorpius saw a fleeting image: Rose covered in flecks of mud. He glanced at Rose. Had she seen Kyle's thought about her, that she was filth because she had a Muggle-born mother? She slanted a  _not now_ look his way and smiled at the next couple. Harrison and Lauren Harper were newlyweds like Edgar and Marianne, but projected happy images about each other, and Lauren's rounded stomach showed why they'd wed the week after leaving school. Scorpius and Rose congratulated them.

Once the last guests made their way into the ballroom, Scorpius asked Rose, "What's wrong?" She'd kept a smile on her face, but from time to time, when she'd glanced his way, her smile had faltered. "Is it Kyle's thoughts, or because Aaron isn't here?"

She shook her head and asked, "When did Orna Bletchley see you naked?"

 


	35. Party Hard

 

"Never . . . that I’m aware of," Scorpius said. There had been times at Hogwarts when he'd sensed that someone was watching him, but he'd figured it was Moaning Myrtle and ignored her until the hairs rising on the back of his neck feeling went away. "Where did she see me? The Prefects’ Bath?"

Rose went so pale he thought she would faint.

He said, "I would've hexed her if I'd known she was spying on me."

Colour rushed back to Rose's face. Her cheeks were bright pink. She shook her head.

"It wasn't the Prefect's Bath?"

There was a sound like rocks banging together. Scorpius turned. Sendak stood in the doorway; the rock sound was him clearing his throat. The troll stepped aside to allow a wizard and his date to enter the ballroom. Scorpius stepped forward to greet Aaron Rosier and Magaera Vane.

The couple had dressed to contrast as much as possible. Aaron was blond, wearing black, and Magaera was dressed in white robes that looked stark against her inky upswept hair.

"I hope we're not late," Aaron drawled.

"Fashionably so." Scorpius silently used Legilimency as they shook hands. Aaron was no Occlumens. His mind was open to be influenced. Scorpius thought  _Trackingbrall_ as he said, "Rose, Aaron was an exemplary student, so I'm sure your paths never crossed, but you remember Magaera from Lumos Duo."

Rose said, "Of course. Nice to see you again, Mags, and nice meeting you, Aaron."

Magaera's nostrils flared. She gritted out, "Likewise," and pulled Aaron away.

"He knows nothing about Trackingbralls," Scorpius said. He hid his unease with a slight smile. "Why did you call Magaera 'Mags'?"

"It was either that or bitch."

Rose's expression was too fierce. Scorpius asked, "Did you see something in her mind that offended you?"

"She thinks you should be with Orna so she can have Guy."

"I don't care what she thinks."

"I know. It just brought up the image I saw in Orna's mind and—" Rose released a sharp breath. "It doesn't matter."

"Yes, it does. Do you want to go somewhere private and talk?"

"Not now. We have a job to do." Rose lifted her chin. "Let's go peek into everyone's brains."

She was right. They needed to put away emotion and keep their mental guard up while using Legilimency. Scorpius led her toward the nearest cluster of guests. It wasn't hard to make eye contact and dip into his former classmates' thoughts. He kept his targets talking by asking about careers, family, mentioning an article about a Quidditch team someone followed or by noticing a change in appearance like a different hair colour. Rose complimented guests on their dress robes and chatted a few times about James's stats with Puddlemere United.

Everyone responded with smiles, although a few were reserved. Surprisingly, what he saw most often when he used Legilimency to discover a person's thoughts about the Knights of Walpurgis was an image of a father or grandfather. Some read Wizard Tales to their children. Some lectured. Some ranted as they shook a  _Daily Prophet_.

Kyle Pucey was different. His thoughts focused on a meeting that had taken place in the library of a house Scorpius knew well: Goyle House. Kyle, Edgar, and Aaron Rosier sipped Firewhiskey together. Edgar offered the men one of Gregory Goyle's prized Nicaraguan cigars.

"Imogen is a Siren's Secret model," Rose said. "Isn't that _interesting_?"

Scorpius took the hint to stop using Legilimency and replied, "I imagine it's hard work."

Imogen assured them that it was and told them about her intensive training and long hours. Rose nodded sympathetically and then said it had been fascinating talking to them.

"You pushed the Legilimency so far I thought he was going to catch on," Rose said as they walked away. "What did you see?"

"I'll tell you later," he replied. "I want to dance." The music playing was a rare slow song. Slytherins preferred fast beats. He unfastened his dress robes. Rose shrugged hers off. Her dress glittered, bringing his eyes to creamy bare shoulders. He draped their robes over the back of an empty chair. They joined the two couples already dancing: Merry and Albus and Zod and Annis.

As soon as Scorpius and Rose began to dance, the rest of the guests followed.

"I told you that's why no one else was dancing," Merry said to Albus. "It's one of those Slytherin things."

Albus laughed. "You're saying we broke protocol?"

Scorpius danced Rose closer to Albus so he could tell him without shouting, "Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs are exempt."

Annis's booming laugh rang out. "What about Ravenclaws?"

"They should know better," Scorpius said, "But if they own the place, they can dance whenever they like."

"Good answer!" Zod said. He was wearing Annis's top hat, and she was wearing his fur cap. At the end of the song they switched hats and left the dance floor.

"I like them a lot," Rose said. The new song was fast tempo, but they continued to sway together.

"I'm glad." He bent his head to ask, "Anyone else you've met tonight that you find likeable?"

"I like the Harpers." Rose bit her lip. "I think they have money problems. Lauren's thoughts were about Harrison filling out an application for the trainee property manager position at Malfoy Enterprises."

"I'll ask him about it."

"Hey, Scorpius! I remember this song from our last House party!" Nathaniel and his date were dancing nearby. Nathaniel had more enthusiasm than rhythm.

Scorpius started moving to the beat instead of swaying, but he kept his arms around Rose. She said, "You better hope Crispin doesn't take a picture of us. It would look like dirty dancing."

"Not in this tuxedo. Every move is magically elegant and tasteful."

The smile was back in her eyes. "Oh, really?"

His hands slid down to her hips. "Classy at all times, Galleons back guaranteed."

She was moving in time with the beat, their bodies brushing together. "Define classy."

"You."

Rose's eyes darkened to sapphire. He started to kiss her and stopped when Albus said, "All this dancing is making me thirsty! Let's go have a drink!"

Scorpius asked Rose, "Does he always have such bad timing?" before taking her hand and reluctantly following the other couple.

Albus led the way to one of the tables on the side of the room with the sushi bar. "Merry's hungry," he said.

Merry asked Rose, "Come help me decide which sushi to try while they get drinks."

"I'll fetch our dress robes," Scorpius said. They were on the other side of the ballroom.

Albus said, "I'll get the drinks. White wine goes with sushi, right?"

"Right," Merry said as she pulled Rose toward the sushi bar.

It took longer than Scorpius expected to circle around the room. He had to stop and chat for a few minutes every time someone called out his name. Not that he minded. Unlike the dinner at Lumos Duo, he didn't feel that this party was a waste of time and money. Slytherins his age might believe they were better than other wizards and Muggles, but most wanted to simply enjoy life. They weren't interested in the Knights of Walpurgis.

The dress robes weren't where he'd left them. Orna, Guy, Magaera and Aaron were sitting at the table. Guy said, "The security troll took your robes."

"Impudent, grabby creature," Aaron said. "No wonder my uncle sacked him."

"He put him in a sack?" Magaera asked blearily.

Scorpius idly wondered if she'd personally emptied one of the champagne bottles on the table. "I believe my grandfather made Sendak a better offer."

Aaron glared at him. Scorpius took the opportunity to cast a Legilimency spell and search for a memory of the meeting with Edgar and Kyle.

_Three men smoking cigars. Edgar speaking. His words were easy to read._

_Don't worry about Malfoy._

Scorpius put the memory away to deal with later. He said, "I beg your pardon. It's not our quarrel."

Aaron relaxed. "No, it isn't."

"Have you tried the tapas?" Scorpius asked. "Guy can tell you if they compare to the tapas on the Costa del Sol. His grandparents have a villa there. If they're trendsetters, they've painted it lime green." He sounded like his grandfather, a reaction to Aaron's tone. No one could out-snob Lucius Malfoy.

Guy preened at the reference to his tux.

"I wanna go," Magaera said.

Orna smirked at her friend. "Maybe we'll invite you to tag along."

Guy winked at Magaera.

If that meant what Scorpius thought it meant, Guy risked losing both Orna and his job with her father's company. "Have a good evening," he said and slowly made his way back to Rose.

"I ate your share of the sushi," Merry said apologetically.

"I'm not hungry." He reached for the one full glass of wine.

"Someone driving you to drink?" Rose asked.

Scorpius resisted the urge to look over his shoulder and check whether Rose could have seen him standing beside Orna's table. He sipped the wine. "Just thirsty."

"You're popular tonight," Albus said. "From the empty tables around, the rest of us are pariahs."

"Outsiders," Scorpius said. "If you were pariahs they would have cast you out."

"He's as smart as you are," Merry said to Rose. "If one of you calls the other a know-it-all, it's the cauldron calling the kettle black."

"My mother was a Black," Scorpius drained his glass. "Let's dance."

On the dance floor, he could almost physically feel Rose using Legilimency to try and slip through his mental defences. Her expression was serene. He visualised mirrors reflecting how beautiful she was, how no one else compared and no one else mattered.

She stopped dancing. He took her into his arms. Kissing Rose at Slytherin party, lost in her embrace, oblivious to the whistles and yelled comments was a long-standing fantasy that couldn't begin to compare with the reality: her mouth, her skin, her hands sliding up his chest. When her hands gently pushed, he murmured. "Are we making a spectacle of ourselves?"

"A classy one, since you're wearing that tux."

Her voice had a thread of laughter in it. He opened his eyes. Hers were shining. He smiled. "I'm suddenly hungry. Want to share some tapas?"

The hags applauded when Scorpius and Rose came over to their bar. Scorpius bowed and Rose curtsied. The hags cackled. He realised that there was a family resemblance in the wide smiles and wider shoulders. Aunt, mother, and daughter, he'd guess.

When Scorpius asked for one of everything, the daughter that had served Crispin the almonds immediately reached beneath the counter and presented him with a tray and two dark green bottles of Spanish beer.

She said, "I put a stasis cover on the food it to keep it fresh." When he thanked her, she said, "Tell your photographer I'm saving another tray for him."

"I will." Most of the tables on this side of the ballroom were occupied. Scorpius saw the Harpers sitting at a table. They were watching the dancers. Lauren said something to Harrison and patted her stomach. Harrison put his hand over hers. Scorpius asked Rose, "Shall we join them?"

"That would be nice."

Harrison and Lauren seemed delighted that Scorpius and Rose wanted to sit at their table.

"It's an amazing party," Lauren said. "Who would have guessed that the Sleazy Kneazle could have rooms like this?"

"You've only been here on karaoke nights?" Scorpius said jokingly.

Lauren blushed.

Harrison said in a low tone, as if admitting an embarrassing flaw, "We both enjoy singing."

Scorpius's first reaction was "How Hufflepuff," but since he regularly engaged in public displays of affection, he was reminded that Slytherins in glass houses shouldn't throw Blasting Curses. He asked, "What about property management? Would you enjoy that?"

"Uh, um, v-very much."

"I'll inform personnel Monday morning. Arrive at ten. They'll have the paperwork ready."

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it." Scorpius tried a courgette flower stuffed with goat's cheese and drizzled with honey.

"I loved that one," Lauren said.

It was a little too sweet for Scorpius's taste.

Rose nudged a dish of Padron peppers his way. "He prefers spicy."

Harrison grimaced. "Those are like Bott's Beans. Most of them are mild and sweet, and then you bite into one that sets your mouth on fire."

Scorpius ate one and savoured the pleasant burn in the back of his throat. "That's the fun of it." He offered one of the small green peppers to Rose. She declined. He bit into it and smiled. "Another spicy one. Usually, it's one in ten."

Rose said, "I wouldn't be surprised if Annis made sure all yours were spicy."

He drank a third of his beer. "That would be too much of a good thing." He eyed the  _pan con tomate_  Rose was holding. She broke the toast with tomato in two and handed him half.

" _Gracias_ ," he said.

Her lips curved. " _De nada_."

After they finished eating, Scorpius and Rose went around the ballroom chatting with guests, danced some more, and eventually said goodbye to those who, like the Harpers, started leaving around midnight. Crispin left earlier to finish writing his article and develop the photographs. Scorpius noticed that Merry and Albus, when they weren't dancing, hung out with Zod and Annis. He wasn't jealous that his old friends got on so well with his new ones. Zod was probably telling the same jokes Scorpius had heard a dozen times. Or his Wizarding War stories. He had some really good war stories.

At two in the morning, the DJ called out, "Last song and last orders!" Most of the remaining guests headed for the dance floor instead of a bar.

Merry dragged Albus over to Scorpius and Rose. "I want to be able to say I danced from the beginning to the end."

Albus told Scorpius, "There would be a queue at the bar at any Gryffindor party with free alcohol."

_Amortentia_  began to play. Rose leaned her head on Scorpius's shoulder. "Did you request this before or during the party?"

"Before."

She lifted her gaze. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. You haven't done anything wrong." Her lips thinned. "I let Orna to get to me. All night, I've wanted to hex her and  _Mags_ —"

"Do it."

Rose looked torn. "They didn't show me those thoughts on purpose. It wouldn't be fair."

"Temporary hexes," Scorpius said. "Acne vulgaris. Halitosis. Body odour."

She glanced over to where Guy and Orna were practically fused together. Nearby, Magaera watched the other couple over Aaron's shoulder. An impish spark flared in Rose's eyes. "Body odour?"

" _Puteo_." Scorpius felt a tingle as Rose silently cast the spell that literally meant "You stink."

Guy was the first one affected. He coughed and pushed Orna away. "Merlin's balls, I told you not to eat the sushi. You smell like rotten fish!"

Magaera giggled drunkenly.

Orna rounded on her. "Did you do this to me, you jealous cow?"

"No! I hate fish!" Magaera staggered backward, keeping Aaron between herself and Orna. She started to gag. "Stay away from me!"

"You girls should work this out," Aaron said, stepping away from them like the rest of the crowd.

Orna stalked toward her friend. "I'm going to pull every fake hair off your head."

Magaera said, "No! I'm going to—" She vomited on Orna's dress.

Orna screeched and yanked out a hank of Magaera's hair.

Rose's eyes were wide. She seemed caught between horror and glee.

_"PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!"_

Zod and Annis walked through the laughing onlookers, wands raised. On stage, the DJ ended the song with a twist of an Orpheus Orb and said, "Goodnight Slytherin House!"

The crowd cheered.

"We'll take care of the  _ladies_ ," Annis said. "Say goodbye to your guests and tell anyone who isn't fit to Apparate that our staff will escort them to our private Floo."

Scorpius and Rose bid their guests farewell. The smiles and excited chatter assured them that the evening's ending was viewed as vastly entertaining and perhaps even the highlight of the party. Half the guests needed to Floo home. The other half couldn't wait to owl friends to tell them what they’d missed. The DJ packed up his equipment and left with a grin on his face.

Once all the guests were gone, including Orna and Magaera, who ended up clean and sober but not speaking to each other, the six of them gathered at the Victorian bar. Zod served coffee.

"I can't wait to see the photos," Merry said. "I hope he made extra copies."

Scorpius asked Rose if she'd like to step out and talk. They could use Zod's private office.

"I'd rather wait until we're home," she said.

A half-hour later, Crispin rushed in. He'd changed into a track suit and trainers and apologised for being late. "I don't know what happened," he said. "Everything was done, put in packets, one for the  _Prophet_  editor, one for you, and then . . . ." His brow furrowed. "I must have dozed off."

"We haven't been waiting long," Scorpius said. He read the  _Daily Prophet_  article while the others looked through the photographs in the second packet. "This is exactly what I wanted," he said as he scrutinised the photographs that would accompany the short article describing the party.

"So that's why the RSVP included a right to use image agreement." Merry peered over his shoulder. "Why aren't Albus and I going to be in the paper?"

"We aren't Slytherins," Albus said. "You'll have photos to show your dad."

"And your parents too." Merry pointed to the photo of Rose and Scorpius dancing. "That's gorgeous."

The contrast of slow dancing and fast, the brightness of their clothes against the darker attire of the Slytherins around them was riveting. "You're an artist," Scorpius told Crispin. "If the  _Daily Prophet_  doesn't offer you a staff position after this, they're fools."

"I'm not sure if I want one anymore," Crispin said. "Not if I get more work from you." He chuckled.

Albus picked up a photo. "Maybe this one should be destroyed. Can you imagine what the  _Intruder_ would do with it?"

It was the photograph of Scorpius, Rose, and Albus lifting their glasses in a toast. Scorpius's dimple was showing. He cast a spell without thinking. The photograph vanished.

"I was taking the piss out of you. I didn't mean it!" Albus said.

"Are all the negatives in the packet?" Scorpius asked.

"Of course," Crispin replied. He gathered the photos and article for the  _Daily Prophet._  "I'd best be off."

"Use our Floo," Zod said. "Annis and I will show you the way." He clapped Scorpius on the arm. "I'll return in a few minutes to let in the cleaning staff."

Scorpius waited until it was just the four of them to share what he'd discovered about his former classmates' views about the Knights of Walpurgis.

"I saw the same thing," Albus said. "Not that many people looked me in the eye." He shrugged. "This group of Slytherins might not care about enforcing pure-blood supremacy, but they won't speak out against it, and they blame my father for pretty much everything the Ministry does."

"Well, he is all powerful," Scorpius said.

Albus laughed. "Not in our house."

Merry asked, "Did you find out if Aaron paid someone to steal the Trackingbrall? He and his friends avoided me and Al, so we had no luck."

"Me either. He has no memories of anything to do with it."

"That's disappointing," Albus said, "but it was great party."

"Fabulous," Merry said. "Did you know that Annis is a Weird Sisters fan? I invited her and Zod over for dinner so they can meet Dad." She looked at Scorpius expectantly, so he nodded, although he'd thought Annis liked death metal, and he was annoyed that Merry had invited the couple over before they'd had dinner with him and Rose. She beamed. "You and Rose will come too? Marvellous! I said Friday at eight, because I'll have to tidy the flat, and I like to put off tidying as long as possible."

Rose asked, "What can we bring?"

"Wine? Beer? I don't know what we're having yet."

"She likes to put off thoughts of cookery as long as possible," Albus said.

Merry giggled. "True."

The doors at the other end of the ballroom opened. Hags with mops and buckets and wands in hand to cast Cleaning Charms marched in and began to work.

"There's our cue to leave," Albus said. He hugged Rose and shook Scorpius's hand. "See you Friday."

Merry hugged Rose and kissed her cheek, hesitated, and then briefly hugged Scorpius before saying goodbye and pulling Albus toward the exit.

"I wasn't going to hex her," Scorpius told a giggling Rose. He saw Sendak waiting for them, robes draped over his arm. It was time to go home.

 

Felix was hunting for the Galleons they'd hidden earlier when they returned to the flat. He brought a Galleon over to them and dropped it on the marble entry floor. Scorpius knelt down to pet the Niffler. Rose said she was going to take a shower and kept walking toward their bedroom. He rubbed Felix's belly. If he'd done nothing wrong, and she'd paid Orna and Magaera back for their thoughts with the hex, why had she acted more and more tense the closer they got to the flat? In the lift, she'd stared at the floor as if she didn't trust him not to attempt Legilimency.

He went to the wardrobe to take off his socks and shoes and hang up his robes, jacket, and tie. Rose's dress was on the floor. Her shoes were on different sides of the wardrobe as if she'd kicked them off. In the bathroom, Rose stood beside the tub wrapped in a grey towel. She'd washed off her makeup. He asked, "Did you change your mind about the shower?"

She said, "You were in your dorm room, not the Prefect's Bath. Orna saw you naked from the back. It was like she sat up in bed, opened the curtains, and saw you getting dressed."

"Guy must have sneaked her in with a Disillusionment Charm."

"I realised that," Rose said. "I think she had to go to the loo and found out you aren't a late sleeper. She closed the curtains right away."

Not out of consideration: Orna wouldn't want to get caught. "But you're still upset."

"With myself. I hexed her for peeping and I've done worse." She took a breath and slowly released it. "Much worse."

"I don't believe it."

His automatic denial sparked Rose's temper. "Why? Because I was Head Girl? Some kind of role model? You more than anyone should know I have hormones like every other girl."

What was she trying to say? She'd seen Teddy Lupin naked?

"Don't look at me like that! It wasn't Teddy!" Rose crossed her arms across her chest. "At the beginning of seventh-year, Moaning Myrtle showed me a hidden passageway and a mirror that looked into the Prefects’ Bath."

No wonder she'd turned pale and then blushed. "You saw someone bathing?"

Rose's face was turning pink, but the emotion flashing in her eyes was as much anger as embarrassment. "I saw you training for your Second Task Swim! What were you trying to prove, that Slytherins can be as reckless as Gryffindors? What if the Grindylows had overpowered you? Do you really think Edgar could have done anything to help?"

"You were there?" His mind was spinning as he tried to put together the pieces. "How did you find out?" No one since Harry Potter had swum for an hour in Hogwarts Lake—the time given to complete the second task during the Triwizard Tournament. He'd done it to prove to himself that he could.

"Myrtle. Don't change the subject. Was completing that stupid swim worth risking your life?"

"Yes."

"And then you kept it a secret."

She'd been impressed. He could hear it in her voice, see it in her eyes. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"That I watched you swim, had Myrtle be my spy, and then went down to the lake instead of reporting you? That I was a peeper and a stalker? When was I supposed to do that? The first time we went swimming together? The first time we made love?" She put her hands on her hips. "Should I have pinched your arse and said, 'wow, I really missed something when you didn't take the Speedo off in the Prefects’ Bath that time I was peeping?' Or maybe, 'that hydrodynamic suit you wore in the lake was clingy, but seeing you in the flesh is so much better'?"

"I would have been flattered."

Her eyes were still snapping. "It was one time. I went to my Head of House and made sure no one else would use that mirror."

Scorpius smiled. "You didn't want anyone else looking at me?"

"Not the way I was looking at you!"

He unbuttoned his shirt. "How were you looking at me?"

"You know."

He took off his shirt and unfastened his trousers. "Tell me and you won't feel guilty anymore."

She sighed. "I didn't feel guilty for looking. I felt guilty for what I was thinking."

He stepped out of the tuxedo trousers. "Pretend I'm wearing a Speedo. Tell me what you were thinking."

Rose whispered, "Take it off."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And to think when I started this chapter that I thought it would be around 3,000 words. I hope everyone enjoyed the party and after party. If there's anyone who hasn't read the one shot Peeping Rose, I hope you'll want to do so now. :D


	36. Picture This

 

The combination of lovemaking and staying up until the early morning hours sent Scorpius into the kind of deep and dreamless sleep he'd experienced as a kid when he and Felix had played jungle explorers all day. He slept so hard, it took Rose shaking his shoulder as well as calling his name for him to awaken. She wore shorts and a camisole top—she'd been up for a while. He ran his tongue over his teeth. The morning after strength brushing/flossing mint still worked. He sat up and kissed her before asking hopefully, "Brunch in bed?"

"A parliament of owls on the terrace."

A Slytherin would have said a flock of owls. Parliament sounded too Muggle. "You think it's more than thank you notes."

She nodded. "A lot of people spend Sunday mornings drinking tea and reading the  _Daily Prophet_."

"They should go out on Saturday nights and sleep in."

Rose glanced at the terrace doors. "Antares is hiding in his burrow."

And Felix was cowering by the Niffler door. Scorpius got out of bed and pulled on a pair of jeans. At first glance, the terrace appeared covered with square and rectangular pieces of litter: thank you notes dropped off by owls from the Owl Post Office. The owls that waited for replies looked familiar except for one—a barn owl with yellowish beige feathers that would appeal to a Hufflepuff. He quickly attended to Maleficus, giving him rehydrated caterpillars to enjoy while Scorpius dumped the rolled up message onto the table and retied the case to the snowy owl's leg.

"That's a good idea," Rose said. She'd cast a Locomotion Charm to send all the thank you cards to their room and was retrieving a letter from her Uncle Bill's great horned owl. "Let's not read any them. That way I can pretend my family is happy about the article, and Aunt Fleur wants to know where I bought my dress."

"I'll send a reply later, I promise," Scorpius told Maleficus.

The owl turned his head toward Rose and snapped his beak before showily flapping his wings to launch himself into the air.

"He likes me as much as Lucius does," Rose said, taking the message from her parents' owl.

Scorpius replied, "At least Grandfather acknowledges your intelligence and beauty." The unfamiliar barn owl didn't have a message case attached to his leg. He stood on the kind of padded manila packet used to hold photographs. Scorpius gave the owl a treat. Unexpectedly, it flew away.

She retrieved the message from her grandparents' owl and said, "Go home, please, all of you. I'll respond later."

The owls obliged.

Rose asked, "Is the packet from Crispin?"

"There's no writing on it."

"Is that why you aren't opening it?" Rose pointed her wand. " _Specialis Revelio!"_  No trace of magic revealed itself. She said, " _Finite Incantatem!_ " and then cast Shield Charms for them both. "That should cover everything from curses to itching powder."

He still didn't reach for the packet. His heart thudded against his chest.

"You're starting to scare me," Rose said. "What are you afraid is in there?"

"Another mistake." Speaking the words broke the paralysing grip of dread. He ripped open one end of the packet and shook the contents onto the table. The Lifestyle section of the  _Daily Prophet_  was folded to show the lead photograph and the caption beneath it.

**_The New Trio?_ **

The rest of the layout was exactly as planned, the photographs and article detailing young, attractive Slytherins partying in style to celebrate life beyond Hogwarts. It didn't matter. Everything the article tried to accomplish was overshadowed by the photograph of Scorpius, Rose, and Albus.

"I didn't check the negatives," Scorpius said. "I got rid of the picture, but I took Crispin's word about the negative." A mistake even Harry Potter couldn't fix.

Rose said, "Crispin was tired. He could have put the negative in the wrong packet by accident."

"Or he opened the door to someone who hit him with a Memory Charm."

"Like we planned to do to Teddy. Oh, Merlin, I can see it happening, but how would they know he was developing photos last night?" Rose picked up the paper. "This shows Slytherins being tolerant. Not living in the past. Is that really so bad?" She looked at the damning photograph more closely. "I can barely see your dimple."

The security wards chimed, and then someone pounded on the front door. " _Rosie! It's Al."_

"Let him in," Scorpius said. He silently chanted, " _Diminuendo_ ," to shrink his grandfather's message case to a size that comfortably fit in his pocket and went into the bedroom to finish dressing. Albus and Rose came in while he was pulling on his riding boots. Albus wore a Weird Sisters t-shirt with tuxedo trousers, and his eyes were bloodshot. He and Merry had apparently continued the party at her flat and he'd stayed over.

"I almost shit myself when I saw the paper," Albus said. "Merry's dad put it on the tray next to the teapot."

"You had breakfast in bed?" Scorpius looked at Rose. She rolled her eyes.

Albus said, "Yeah. He didn't knock before entering. It was awkward." He laughed without humour. "Like that trio photograph. What are we going to do about it?"

"It's too late to demand a retraction," Scorpius said.

"That's the worst thing we could do." Rose held up the paper. "This shows three mates having a drink. Make a fuss and it'll look like we we're trying to hide something. Imagine those headlines in the  _Intruder_."

"That isn't what I meant." Albus rubbed his eyes. "I should have said how do we find the bastard who set this up?"

Scorpius said, "You and Rose can interview Crispin. Cast Revealing Charms to see if there are hidden Recordbralls, spy cameras, or traces of Dark Magic in the flat. Interview the neighbours. Did anyone notice that Crispin had visitors? If they did, can they describe them?"

"I'm not an Auror. I'm a trainee," Albus said. "I don't have the authority to question the neighbours, and I look like a dog's breakfast."

"Borrow my clothes and ask Teddy to help."

"Where will you be?" Rose asked. "Riding the motorbike to Wiltshire?"

He nodded. "Help me pick out a jacket?"

With the door shut, the walk in wardrobe offered the privacy Scorpius needed to say, "I saw something last night. Something I need to show you."

Rose's expression became serene. Images rose in his mind.

_Edgar in the Goyle library offering Kyle and Aaron cigars . . . Edgar saying, "Don't worry about Malfoy."_

Scorpius closed his eyes.

Rose hugged him. "They could have been talking about anything."

"I didn't bring up Kyle's memory. He was already thinking about it. That's why I have to see my grandfather." Scorpius didn't want to let her go, wanted to take her with him, feel her arms around him as they flew over the countryside. She could have tea with his parents and grandmother.

The rap of knuckles against wood snapped him back to reality. If Lucius was in a vengeful mood, Scorpius wasn't allowing him to take it out on Rose.

Albus's voice came through the doors. "If we want Teddy to help, we'll have to get to the flat before Victoire or his Auror mates pop round. She'll have him carrying her shopping bags down Diagon Alley, and his mates will have him playing darts and listening to Quidditch on the wireless in the Iron Shackle."

"We'll be right out," Rose said. She handed Scorpius a jacket. "I like the grey stripes.'

He took a folded pair of her jeans off a shelf. "I like it when Ted doesn't see your legs."

 

The trip to Malfoy Manor gave Scorpius time to detach from the emotions that made it hard to think logically. He visualised the Occlumency chest covered in snow that held his memories and placed the distracting feelings inside. By the time he'd landed outside the manor's wrought-iron gates, he felt self-assured enough to drive his enchanted motorbike down the gravel drive instead of parking outside the gates.

Stevens waited for him on the front steps, dressed impeccably in a three piece grey suit. "Shall I engage the Invisibility Booster on your motorbike, Master Scorpius, to ensure it remains operable for your return home?"

Scorpius cast the charm. "I take it Grandfather's read the paper and isn't pleased."

"An understatement. I—" Stevens hesitated, and then said, "I recommend opening a dialogue on more neutral ground."

"My parents are home." He'd assumed that they were in London because they hadn't sent an owl.

"In their private quarters."

They'd already had a row with Lucius about the article, by Stevens's tone. If Scorpius went inside, they'd insist on defending him. Make the situation worse. He couldn't allow it. He had to speak with his grandfather alone. "Tell him I'll be waiting to talk at the castle." He Disapparated.

He was shutting the secret panel after using a Vanishing Charm on his Loki Scamander outfit when the door opened.

"Looking for toys? You do seem to enjoy playing games." Lucius ducked his head to enter. "Perhaps I should burn this place down to remind you that actions have consequences." His grandfather's eyes were molten steel.

Scorpius said, "Perhaps you should. I made a mistake. I authorised photographs without checking the negatives."

"You trusted the photographer." Lucius's expression revealed his opinion of that: Scorpius had been foolish.

"Yes." It was easy to admit his failures when he wasn't worried about his grandfather's opinion. "The person who used a Memory Charm on Crispin to give the  _Daily Prophet_  an extra photo counted on it."

"Do you know who that person is?"

Once Lucius had a name, he would have a target. Scorpius said, "I need you to see someone's memories. I can put the images in your mind." He held out his hand. "You gave a wizard's handshake that you wouldn't use Legilimency on your family. I'll give a wizard's handshake that I'll only share what I saw."

"Fair enough."

They shook hands. Scorpius clenched his jaw against the sting that was only a hint of the pain he would feel if he didn't keep his word. "Look into my eyes whenever you're ready."

"Don't rush me." Lucius shot him an irritated glance.

It was all Scorpius needed. He brought Kyle and Aaron's memories to the front of his thoughts and planted them in his grandfather's mind.

Lucius's eyes narrowed. "Explain."

"They're using me against you, trying to undermine your influence with the Knights. Implying that you suffer my choices because you're weak, that new blood needs to rise up and take control. They don't have enough allies to do it openly, so they arranged to have a photograph do their dirty work."

Lucius arched an eyebrow. "They? Don't you mean Edgar? Kyle and Aaron are his minions. Gregory must be so proud."

"Indeed."

"You sound blasé about it."

"A side effect of Occlumency. I needed to think, not feel."

Lucius regarded him curiously. "You came here to do more than apologise."

"We have to discover what they're planning. Discrediting you isn't enough. They have to prove they're worthy to replace you."

"Edgar," Lucius snapped. "Avoid saying his name all you like, but it doesn't change the fact that your best mate has betrayed you."

"I'm sure he believes his actions are justified." Scorpius held up a hand when his grandfather began to speak. "It isn't effortless, you know. Containing emotions. Don't make it harder for me by arguing and casting blame. We need to move forward."

"How?"

"You're going to go to the club. If there are any photographers hanging around, hoping for a reaction story, you'll give them one." Scorpius could picture the scene. "When they ask for a statement, say you're pleased with the article. For too many years, Aurors and Magical Law Enforcement have gotten away with profiling Slytherins as Dark, and this should help end their sanctioned prejudice and harassment."

"That's quite a speech."

"Brief, yet inflammatory. The tabloids will run it, if not the  _Prophet_." Scorpius evaluated his grandfather's idea of weekend casual attire: a white dress shirt unbuttoned at the throat and crisply pressed trousers. "A green tie and traditional wizard robes will photograph well."

Lucius asked, "Will you be selecting the tie personally, or do you trust Stevens to do it?"

It did sound as though he was trying to teach a snake to swallow prey. "Whatever the two of you choose will be impeccable." He envisioned his grandfather giving his statement and entering the club. "The reading room where members smoke their pipes. That's where you should go," Scorpius said. "The article will draw everyone of influence there to discuss it."

"I'll be snubbed."

"Not if you mention the press outside and the statement you gave them. Imply that you orchestrated the article to manipulate public opinion." Scorpius smiled. "Your adversaries won't be able to deny it."

Lucius returned his smile. "I take back every word I wrote in that letter."

Scorpius handed his grandfather the diminutive message case. "I didn't read it."

"Good." The message case vanished. Lucius checked his pocket watch. "We should meet later. Your father will stop his hysterics if I tell him you're bringing Miss Weasley to the manor for dinner."

"Eight o'clock?" Scorpius asked.

"Drinks at seven."

"We'll be here," Scorpius said.

They walked outside.

"Do you believe I'm weak to suffer your choices?" Lucius asked.

"No," Scorpius said conviction. "I think you're waiting for your long-term investment to pay off."

His grandfather said, "Preferably before I die."

They both chuckled.

"I like you like this." His grandfather's expression was wistful.

"I know," Scorpius said. "I'm more like you." He Disapparated.

 

On the trip back to London, he weighed the pros and cons of taking Rose with him to visit Teryn. Rose would make Teryn feel at ease. Chat with her while he used Legilimency. But he would have to wait at the flat for her to return. If he went to Crispin's place, he'd have to deal with Albus and Teddy. He wasn't ready to tell them about Edgar.

Scorpius parked his bike on the roof of Teryn's building and Apparated to the front entrance. Before he could knock on her door, it opened.

"Aahh!" Teryn shrieked. She started to close the door, blinked at him, and then laughed. "You startled me. I had my mind on takeaway."

His stomach rumbled. "What kind?"

"Kebabs."

He cast a Confundus Charm. "Buy enough for two. Whatever you like. We'll talk over lunch." He handed her some Galleons. "My treat. I'll wait in the flat."

Her brows drew together. "Inside my flat?"

"Yes, I'm tired from the party."

"Oh. All right." She left with a confused smile on her face.

He went into the flat. What he was looking for wasn't hidden. It sat on a shelf in the bathroom cabinet: a single bottle of Incognito Potion. The Venetian red label had a drawing of an elaborate mask beneath the black lettering. The gilded cork matched the gold mask. George Weasley had a flair for marketing to customers. Scorpius shut the cabinet and glanced into the rubbish bin beside the toilet. It was empty except for three golden corks in the bottom.

Scorpius searched the rest of the flat. No bottles. Nothing of Edgar's lying around. Not even a  _Quidditch Illustrated_  magazine on a bedside table. Why? Did Marianne suspect that he was cheating?

Teryn returned with lamb shish, chicken shish, and aubergine kebabs. "I got the aubergine ones so our lunch wouldn't be terribly unhealthy."

His stomach gave a loud grumble. He said, "As you heard, nutrition isn't my top priority right now."

She grinned. "I'm starved too!"

They devoured the shish kabobs on the sofa out of the takeaway containers.

"I know you hoped Edgar was here," Teryn said, "but he got an owl after we came back from dinner and, um, spent some time together. His mother was feeling poorly and calling for him, so he had to go home." Her expression brightened. "It was so funny how different we looked using the Incognito Potions. We walked down Diagon Alley and browsed through the shops."

"Did Edgar drag you through Quality Quidditch Supplies?" Scorpius made eye contact as though he was interested in the answer and cast a Legilimency spell.

_A girl with straight mouse-brown hair and freckles and her partner with dark blond hair and pale blue eyes stood before a display of racing brooms. Average height, average build and average features made the couple remarkably unremarkable._

Teryn finished telling him about the racing brooms. He asked where they'd gone to dinner.

"The Gnome and Jarvey," she said. "Edgar laughed at me for wanting to try pub grub, but it was brilliant and there was live music."

Scorpius searched her memories. She'd bought four bottles of Incognito Potion. He found the moment Edgar received his summons to go home to Mother.

_A barn owl with yellowish beige feathers on its back and uppermost wings scratched at the window. Teryn raised the sash to let the owl hop onto the bed._

The owl was identical to the barn owl that left the anonymous packet. Scorpius waited for Teryn to finish telling about the Irish folk singer at the Jarvey and asked, "The owl that brought the message. Was it his mother's?" The horned owl he remembered delivering post to Edgar at school was elderly. If it had died recently, Millicent could have replaced it.

Teryn flushed red. "No," she said sadly. "It was his wife's."

 

 


	37. The Feels

 

"Does Marianne know about you and Edgar?" Scorpius used Legilimency to see the memory of Edgar reading the message. It reminded him of the times he'd secretly watched Rose talk to Lily or Albus across the Prefects' Common Room while he conversed with Orna. He couldn't hear what Rose said, but Legilimency had taught him to read lips.

"I asked that too," Teryn said, while in her memory Edgar gave a short laugh and mouthed the words, "If she did, we'd both be dead."

"What did he say?" Scorpius asked.

"Edgar said she didn't, that magic guided owls to people when there wasn't an address."

"What do you know about Marianne?" He searched for memories, unprepared for the mental images of Edgar showing up on Teryn's doorstep on his wedding night. His mate had been drinking. Slurred words were hard to read.

_Cel'brating . . . won't have to touch her . . . don't need heir . . . need you . . . ._

Teryn said, "Marianne told him that she's asexual. Edgar said they agreed to be partners in ambition, whatever that means. Society? Business? Why does any of that matter if they never have children?"

"I don't know." That was a lie. Some people lived to accumulate wealth and power. He'd never thought Edgar was one of them. Scorpius had a final question to ask. "There's a bottle of Incognito Potion in the bathroom cabinet. Didn't you buy four?"

"Yes." She looked confused, as if wondering how he'd known and why he'd looked in her bathroom cabinet. "I must have misplaced one of them."

Or Edgar took it with him and used it before he visited Crispin. There was one way to find out.

 

Scorpius returned the motorbike to its rooftop shed and Apparated to the pavement in front of a three storey Victorian house converted into flats. Crispin's was on the lower ground floor. Since Teddy was likely to be interviewing the neighbours, Scorpius cast a Disillusionment Charm before he entered the building. Voices echoed from the first floor: an interview in progress. He heard footsteps on the stairs coming up from the lower ground level.

Rose walked into the small lobby. She paused to check her watch, glanced toward the entrance, and bit her lip before going upstairs.

Scorpius almost lost control of his emotions. She was worried about him. He clenched his jaw and balled his hands into fists. If he called out to Rose, she'd want to be with him when he spoke with Crispin.

Scorpius went downstairs.

Crispin started apologising before he opened the door. He didn't know how the negative got into that packet, he was so sorry, and he would understand if Scorpius never hired him again. When he waved Scorpius into the flat, a new round of apologies began. He always meant to tidy, but he was a hopeless case, and he only had tea bags because he always forgot to put the lid back on the tea tin and got paranoid that he was drinking dust along with the tea.

Scorpius said, "I don't blame you for the photograph. I'm here to check that you're all right."

"Because of the Memory Charm?" Crispin asked. "The others told me about that. They searched, but they didn't find traces of Dark magic or Recordbralls."

"Did any of them try Legilimency?"

"Rose." Crispin smiled sheepishly. "I figured if I was going to stare into someone's eyes, might as well pick pretty ones."

Excellent reasoning. Scorpius asked, "What did she see?"

"Me puttering around, making tea, hear—I mean—waking up on the sofa."

"You heard something while you made tea?"

Crispin shook his head. "I misspoke. Rose didn't say that."

Scorpius silently cast a Legilimency spell. He searched Crispin's memories for images of when he'd made tea after sorting photographs and negatives into packets. He saw Crispin putting on a kettle. As the scene unfolded, Scorpius said, "You put a teabag into a yellow and black striped mug and then looked toward the door. I think someone rang the bell or knocked."

"I don't remember that."

"Even after I brought the memory to the surface?"

"No, although you did describe my favourite mug." Crispin scratched his head. "Wait. You're using Legilimency?"

"All I need is a moment of eye contact." The memories were still there, not erased. Crispin wouldn't be able to recall them, he'd been charmed to forget, but a Legilimens could find them.

"What about Rose?" Crispin asked.

"The same." He looked into wide eyes and delved into Crispin's mind again.

_Crispin opened the door to see a wizard with dark blond hair and pale blue eyes . . . ._

Pain jabbed at Scorpius's temples. He ruthlessly sent disappointment to join every other distracting emotion locked away. "Would you like to see your visitor?"

"You can do that?"

Scorpius planted the image. "I'm bypassing the Memory Charm because technically, what you're seeing is coming from me, not you."

Crispin blinked. "That's the bloke? Are you sure he isn't one of my neighbours? He's so normal looking."

"Instead of hulking and sinister?" Like Edgar when he wasn't taking Incognito Potion.

"Yeah."

Scorpius said, "I'll go up and tell the others that we have a suspect. Teddy Lupin's a sketch artist." His Green Knight drawing, at least, had been spot on. "He'll draw the wizard and show it to the neighbours."

"I'll put on the kettle if you think they'll want tea," Crispin said.

"I do," Scorpius said. He cast Disillusionment and Muffling Charms and went upstairs.

On the second floor, Teddy was interviewing an attractive brunette who volunteered that she and her mates planned to meet at the Iron Shackle for drinks that evening. Teddy smiled a little and asked if she'd seen or heard anything out of the ordinary when she came home from the hen party in the early hours of the morning.

The rest of the corridor appeared empty. Rose and Albus, like Scorpius, must have used Disillusionment Charms to conceal their presence. Since Albus was an Auror Trainee, he was probably standing at Teddy's right. Scorpius stretched out a hand and felt his way along the wall on the opposite side of the corridor. Once he touched silky fabric, he whispered, "It's me," and slid his hand down Rose's arm, caressing her skin. Instead of linking their hands together, he rubbed his fingers against hers and circled her palm with his thumb. Rose had beautiful hands.

Those hands pulled him toward her, and then she was pressing close, her arms around his back, hugging him. Her warmth created a need for a different kind of heat. He bent his head. His lips brushed her hair, trailed across her cheek to her mouth. She took a step back. He moved forward, his lips parting hers. Their combined weight made a thumping sound against the wall.

Teddy interrupted the brunette's rambling account of how obliviously drunk she'd been with a firm, "Thank you for your cooperation. If I have any more questions—"

"You'll come to the Iron Shackle?"

"I'll let you know," Teddy said as if she hadn't spoken.

The brunette said goodbye in a way that showed she thought Teddy was considering showing up to have drinks with her and her mates. Scorpius would have smirked if his lips weren't occupied with kissing Rose. He heard Albus laughingly ask if that kind of thing happened often.

Teddy answered, "Sometimes. Aurors call them badge bunnies. They go for any kind of law enforcement, but Aurors are at the top of their list." He cleared his throat. "I can see the air blur, Rosie. Are you having a seizure or is Scorpius here?"

She turned her head to the side, giving Scorpius the opportunity to kiss her throat. "He's here," she said breathily.

"Do I need to douse him with cold water?" Teddy asked.

"Maybe," she said.

"No." Scorpius reluctantly moved away from Rose. "I came up here to tell you that Crispin can describe the wizard who cast the Memory Charm and switched the negative."

Rose's hand found his. "Did you see his memory?"

"Yes."

"Was it—"

"He had a plain, unmemorable kind of face. Crispin thought he must be a neighbour."

Rose's fingers, linked with Scorpius's, squeezed. Whether she was expressing relief or had her suspicions and wanted to reassure him, he couldn't say. Not being able to read her expression was the downside of Disillusionment.

"Brilliant. A criminal with the kind of face no one remembers. Best day off ever." Teddy led the way downstairs.

In addition to making tea, Crispin had found a tin of chocolate biscuits and cleared the piles of newspapers, clothing, and photography magazines out of his lounge area. Scorpius suspected he had used a Locomotion Charm to send the clutter to the darkroom/bedroom. They had tea around the sofa table.

Scorpius was the only one who asked for a second cup. The desire he'd shut down and put in his overstuffed mental quarantine chest had melted layers of snow. He could feel icy water trickling down into the cracks, slowly chilling him from the inside out. His head began to pound.

"Are you feeling well?" Rose asked.

Albus said, "You are looking a bit blue around the gills."

Teddy jabbed a thumb toward to the door. "Crispin can show us his memory. You take Rosie and whatever party virus you picked up home. I'm saving my sick leave to extend my honeymoon."

"Thanks," Scorpius said through his teeth. He wasn't angry. He was concerned that his teeth might chatter.

"I'll bring you some of Kreacher's chicken soup later and give you an update on the case," Albus said.

"Owl," Scorpius replied. He pressed the heel of his palm against his temple. It didn't relieve the pain. "Dinner . . . my family."

Teddy told Crispin. "I'll sketch from your description and then, with your permission, use Legilimency to refine the image."

Albus walked them to the door. He said to Rose in a low voice, "You may want to use that, uh, special comforting charm when you get home."

"What's so special about it?" Teddy asked.

"What big ears you have," Rose said. She gave Albus a look that said  _you'd better not tell him_  as she opened the door. Outside, she told Scorpius, "Your motorbike will have to stay wherever you left it. I'm Apparating us home."

He held onto her while she Apparated and while she cast Disillusionment Charms to sneak them into the building and avoid the photographers camped out on the pavement in front of the entrance. In the lift, he said, "You. Me. Hot bath. Be fine."

Rose dropped her arm from around his waist. He swayed. She steadied him. "We'll have that bath after you wake up."

Her tone warned him not to argue. He let her guide him through the flat to the bedroom. Felix jumped up on the bed as she pulled back the covers. When Scorpius sat down, the Niffler stood on his hind legs to lick his master's face. Scorpius kicked off his shoes and dragged off his shirt as Rose unbuttoned his trousers. He said, "Wasn't trying to be Jack Frost."

"I know."

"I put emotions in the Occlumency chest."

Rose's lips curved as she tugged his trousers down. "Not all of them." She gave his shoulder a nudge. He pulled her down to lie on top of him. He still shivered. She said, "I'll cast a Warming Charm after the  _Conforto_."

"Need body heat."  _Need you._ The thought brought up the memory of Edgar showing up drunk on Teryn's doorstep on his wedding night.

She dragged the covers over them. "If you release your emotions you'll end the pain of suppressing them."

He closed his eyes. "Can't." In his mind he stood frozen, unable to cast a spell to unearth his buried emotions, much less open the lid to set them free.

"Then I'll help." The mattress shifted. He heard a drawer open. Envisioned Rose waving her wand.

" _Conforto!_ "

 

Scorpius awoke in the bathtub. For a few disorienting seconds, he wondered why the water was warm, and then he remembered: the bath wasn't countering the backlash of a wizard's handshake. It was countering the effects of freezing out too many emotions.

"How do you feel?" Rose sat on the edge of the tub, fully dressed. Her eyes were shiny, the tip of her nose pink.

"Tired." His voice sounded hoarse. His nose felt stuffy and his eyes were heavy. He asked, "Was Teddy right about a virus? Did we catch a cold?"

"You cried in your sleep." Rose wiped her eyes with her fingertips. "I—I thought this might soothe you."

_Crying?_ "What would I have to cry about?" His vision blurred. Watery eyes were a sign of a cold. Everyone knew that.

"Edgar." A tear slipped down Rose's face.

Trickles of moisture ran down Scorpius's cheeks. He slid down into the water and counted seconds in Latin, holding his breath.  _Unus, duo, tres, quattuor . . . ._ He surfaced at  _septuaginta._ "Stress," he said. "People cry from stress. It's biological. Endorphins build up from repressing emotions and crying provides an outlet."

"You were sad about Edgar."

Scorpius's first impulse was to deny it. He couldn't lie to Rose. "Sad. Angry. Disappointed. Hurt." Oddly, admitting his feelings made them easier to deal with. They didn't weigh as heavily on his heart. "He tried to use me—us—to undermine my grandfather. And we gave him Incognito Potion to help do the job."

"We have to tell Uncle Harry," Rose said.

"Not yet. Not until we can give him the name of the Ministry employee selling Trackingbralls. Not until we find out what's behind the Stop Snitching flyers in Knockturn Alley."

"And how long will that take?" Rose asked.

It was a fair question. It had been weeks since Harry asked him to pass along information. All they had was circumstantial evidence gained from unauthorised Legilimency. "If Grandfather's willing, we could have what we need tomorrow."

Rose stared. "You're going to walk into his office tomorrow and ask for his help?"

"No, I'm going to ask him in the library after dinner while you, Grandmother Narcissa, and my parents have coffee in the drawing room."

"The family dinner is at Malfoy Manor."

She seemed a little stunned, but not dismayed. Scorpius peered at the waterproof clock they'd hung on the wall to ensure shared showers didn't make them late on weekday mornings. "Drinks are at seven, so we'll have to hurry. Family dinners are rather formal."

"It won't take us three hours to get dressed."

He adjusted the tap to pour out hot water. "You promised we'd have a bath when I woke up." He smiled. "I'm wide awake."

"And pruney."

Scorpius waggled his fingers. "The wrinkles enable me to grip wet objects."

"What if I like being slippery?"

"Bring some bath oil."

Rose pursed her lips as if considering his suggestion, but he could tell that she was amused. She sauntered over to the bathroom cupboard and came back with a dark red bottle with a wooden stopper. "Are you sure about this?" she asked. "The scent was advertised as romantic and long lasting."

How bad could it be? "I'm sure."

She removed the stopper and dumped an alarming amount of bath oil into the water. A floral and woodsy scent filled the air. Rose coughed. "It's supposed to make us imagine that we're in a limpid pool surrounded by water lilies and exotic grasses."

"You might have used a little more than recommended."

Rose squinted at the label. "I did." She put the bottle on the floor and started to undress. "I guess those pruney fingers of yours will come in handy."

He raised his feet out of the water. "Don't forget my toes."

 

Three hours later, Stevens ushered them into the Manor. "Welcome, Miss Weasley. You look lovely this evening."

"He's saying we don't have helmet hair," Scorpius told Rose, who was exceptionally lovely in a strapless black gown. He dressed to match in a black dinner jacket and trousers. "Amazing what Styling Charms can do."

"If you are attempting to imply that you travelled by motorbike, I am aware that you used more conventional means of transportation," Stevens said. "Master Lucius has received three owls from journalists desiring confirmation of your dinner at the manor."

"Only three?" Scorpius asked Rose. "Weren't there more journalists hanging round when we strolled out of the building?"

She patted his arm and said mock-consolingly, "Not everyone checks their facts before reporting a story."

"Indeed," Stevens said. He escorted them to the drawing room. "It's good to see you in high spirits, Master Scorpius."

"It's the company I keep." Scorpius looked at Rose. Talking things out with her—in and out of the bath—had put him in a philosophical mood. He couldn't change the past. All he could do was live in the present, and at that moment he was happy to be bringing Rose to the manor for dinner.

She replied, "And the shot of Firewhiskey you drank before we left."

Stevens chuckled and then adopted a sober mien as they reached the drawing room. He opened the doors, announcing, "Master Scorpius and Miss Weasley."

Grandmother Narcissa, regal in a silver gown, rose from a settee to greet them. Rose received a smile and a compliment on her gown. Scorpius leaned down to receive an air kiss in the vicinity of each cheekbone. Grandfather Lucius wore dark grey dress robes with a mandarin collar. He inclined his head and said, "Miss Weasley, a pleasure," before telling Scorpius, "Your parents refused to join us."

"Why?"

"Your father's still a trifle overset about the disagreement he and your grandfather had this morning," Narcissa said. When Scorpius didn't respond, she added, "Draco objected to the . . . concerns . . . Lucius voiced in his letter to you."

"I told Draco you didn't read it," Lucius said. "As you can see, it made no difference."

"I'll go talk to them," Scorpius said.

"Marvellous," Narcissa replied. "Miss Weasley can tell me all about the party while you're gone. There weren't enough photographs in the paper. I want to know how the décor has changed since Lucius and I were there last and what designers everyone was wearing."

"Of course," Rose said faintly, allowing Narcissa to take her arm with white gloved fingers and lead her to the settee.

"I'll come with you," Lucius said, following Scorpius into the corridor. "To tell the truth, Draco never opened his door. He may not have heard me."

"I'm sure he did. Average Soundproofing Spells are no match for your Sonorous Charms."

Lucius said waspishly, "At least one of us is proficient at spellcasting. Your Neutralising Charms are no match for whatever scent you and Miss Weasley doused yourselves in. You smell like you've been cavorting in the garden."

"Close. A limpid pool surrounded by water lilies and exotic grasses." Scorpius laughed when his grandfather curled his lip. "It said so on the bath oil bottle." He grinned when, after visibly trying to fight it, the corners of Lucius's mouth twitched. They walked companionably through the manor.

Scorpius asked, "Am I going to read your response to the  _Prophet_ article in tomorrow's paper?"

"I believe so, especially after your public declaration that you were bringing Rose to a family dinner—which I will also take credit for."

They were nearing the door leading to Draco and Astoria's private quarters. Scorpius knocked on the door and raised his voice. "Dad, it's Scorpius. Let me in."

The door opened. Astoria, dressed in a floor length white dress, said, "Thank Merlin!"

"On further thought," Lucius said, "I believe I'll go tell Mrs. Stevens to delay dinner a half-hour."

"Thank you." Astoria kissed Scorpius on the cheek and then pulled him into the entry to their private lounge and shut the door.

"What happened to all the furniture and paintings?" Scorpius asked. The lounge was empty.

"Shrinking Spells. Your father's throwing everything into carryall bags. He's on a rampage." She pointed to their bedroom. "Go talk sense into him, please."

"Me?"

"Not an actual rampage. He isn't threatening to harm anyone." Astoria said. There was a crashing sound followed by a shouted obscenity. "But he is drunk."

 

 


	38. Malfoy Manor

 

It was too sad to be comical. His father stood, one hand braced against the wall for balance, the other reaching for a rectangular frame caught around the tip of his black leather dress shoe. Miniature furniture stood in place around the room. An open carryall bag lay on its side near his father, the bag's Lilliputian-sized contents spilling out, including a tiny mattress.

Scorpius asked, "Are you re-enacting a scene from  _Gulliver's_   _Travels_?"

Draco bent toward his entrapped shoe instead of lifting his right foot. He started to topple over and put his foot down for balance. There was a snapping sound. His father's scowl deepened. "You made me break the bed! Your mother stole my wand so I can't even fix it."

"I'll do it. Don't move." Scorpius walked over and knelt to slip the frame off the shoe. " _Reparo_ ," he said. "Why did Mum take your wand?"

"She's trying to undermine my, ah . . . ."

"Authority?"

"Decision." Draco knelt down to grab the bed frame by its winged, upholstered headboard.

Scorpius clasped his wrist. "What decision?"

"We're moving to Paris. Astoria's always talked about opening a boutique on the Rue d'Alger. I say it's time."

"Why?"

"You know why." Draco pulled free and started stuffing shrunken furniture back in. "I can't bear to see history repeating itself. I'd rather be in Paris, imagining that you'll one day come to your senses, than stay here and face reality."

" _What_  reality? What the hell are you talking about?" He grabbed the carryall away from his father.

Draco tried to snatch it back. "You're giving in to Lucius's demands just like I did."

"No, I'm not." Scorpius let go of the bag to steady his father by gripping his upper arms. "I didn't read his letter, Dad. Rose and I are here for a family dinner. That's all. Didn't he tell you?" His father's expression gave him his answer. If Lucius had told him, Draco hadn't heard. "I'm sorry," Scorpius said. "I assumed that he'd used a Sonorous Charm."

"Doesn't matter," Draco said. "I can't forgive him for what he tried to do."

"He said he took back everything he'd written."

"Too late."

It couldn't be. "I need you to stay," Scorpius said. "Grandfather needs you."

Draco smiled sadly. "You have each other."

"It isn't the same." His father wasn't listening. He stared off, lost in unhappy thought.  _I did this to him._ Guilt spurred Scorpius into action. " _Incarcerous!"_ Thin cords materialised in the air and wrapped around his father. "Mum!" Scorpius shouted. "Bring Soberup Potion!"

Draco asked, "How d'you know we have it?"

"You needed it after the last party."

"Oh. Right. Well, I didn't use it." His father's mouth turned down. "Don't want it."

Astoria rushed in with the potion and stopped short. "Is force really necessary?"

Draco said, "Let me go, son. I have packing to do."

"Drink the potion first," Scorpius replied.

Astoria knelt down and put the bottle to Draco's lips.

He pouted. "Mothers always take the child's side."

She kissed his cheek. "Drink, dear."

Once his father swallowed the potion, Scorpius waited until the grey eyes looking into his were sharp and sober.

And then he cast a Memory Charm.

_"What did you do to him?"_

Scorpius watched his mother cast a spell to get rid of Draco's bonds and gently lower him to lie with his head in her lap. He straightened his father's legs to make him more comfortable. "When he wakes up he won't remember his row with grandfather or his plans to leave the manor."

"I will." His mother's tone warned him not to use a Memory Charm on her.

He'd only considered it for a moment. "But you won't tell him."

Astoria sighed. "I have to say  _something."_ She glanced pointedly around the room. "He won't believe I had the sudden urge to become a minimalist."

"I'll do it," Scorpius said. "I've kept secrets, trying to protect you." He saw his mother's raised eyebrow and added, "Trying to protect myself from the guilt of causing you worry." She raised both brows. He finally confessed, "And I didn't want to be accountable to anyone."

She glanced down. "Sound like anyone you know, darling?"

Scorpius froze when his father smirked.

Draco opened his eyes to stare up at Astoria. "What won't you tell me?"

"Something I need to say." Scorpius checked the time. "After dinner." He stood and held out a hand to help his father rise.

Draco accepted the hand up. He helped Astoria to her feet and straightened his cuffs. "A minimalist with shrunken furniture. Good one."

"Thank you. I must remember to share it with Luna." Astoria shook out her skirts. "I hung your dinner jacket in the bathroom so you wouldn't shrink it. Your wand is in the inside pocket."

Draco said, "Let's not keep the others waiting."

 

Rose and Grandmother Narcissa sat together on a settee. Scorpius could tell that his grandmother was enjoying their conversation. Her gloved fingertips touched Rose's arm as she spoke. His grandfather projected languid interest, fingers laced together as he listened from his adjoining chair, but he immediately came over to offer Scorpius and his parents a drink when they entered the drawing room.

"Nothing for me, thanks," Draco said.

To an onlooker, Lucius took his son's amiable reply in stride. His eyes flickered to Scorpius. His eyes gleamed when Scorpius replied to his unspoken question with a slight nod. "And for you, Astoria?" Lucius asked smoothly.

"Lemon vodka."

"Excellent choice," Lucius said. "Mrs. Stevens is serving stuffed sea bream for dinner."

Scorpius shook his head when his grandfather glanced his way. Rose was still deep in conversation with his grandmother. He smiled. As his mother and grandfather moved toward the drinks cabinet, he asked his father to take a turn about the room with him.

"What?"

"I want to use a ploy from a novel to get Rose's attention." His father's expression remained blank. Apparently, his Muggle Studies class had never read  _Pride and Prejudice_.

"If you think it will work." Draco cleared his throat. "Let me show you the Inca vase that your great grandfather Abraxas purchased on his final trip to the Peruvian Vipertooth Reserve." They strolled from one side of the room to the other.

Rose looked up.

Scorpius asked if she'd care to join them in viewing the vase.

"Don't touch it," Narcissa said. "I still believe the horrid thing gave my poor father-in-law dragon pox."

"It's beautiful," Rose said when she joined them in front of the lighted niche that held the ceremonial vase. "The handles are dragons."

Scorpius said, "He should have bought the one with jaguars."

"It was dragons or nothing," Draco said. "Even at the end, Abraxas appreciated the irony of dying from what he lived for." His gaze travelled beyond them. "Mother and Father are both conversing with Astoria, and I think she's on her second drink. I'd better intervene before there's en vodka veritas."

Rose said when they were alone, "Next time take me with you."

“I will.” That he’d expected to return shortly was no excuse to inflict his grandparents on her. “I’m sorry.”

Her eyes searched his face. "What happened?"

It would take too long to explain, even if he could find the words. Scorpius planted images in Rose's mind. Her jaw dropped. He said, "It was the same charm we planned to use on Teddy. It only affects a couple of memories."

Stevens entered the drawing room and announced that dinner was served.

On the surface, the meal went smoothly. The food was superb, the conversation without awkward silences. They ate  _en famille_  at one end of the table that could expand to seat sixty. Rose sat next to him. Scorpius should have felt at ease. Instead, he was on edge. Did she think they were stuffy? Pretentious? When Rose glanced around the room, he told her more than she probably wanted to know about Abraxas Malfoy's enthusiasm for the Régence period with its sinuous furniture and dragon motifs.

"I prefer the Louis XIV style of the drawing room," Narcissa said.

"Mirrors and gilt?" Lucius replied.

"Exactly."

Scorpius said, "I'd like to show Rose the library after dinner."

His grandfather set down the wineglass he'd just picked up. "Following our discussion?"

"Actually, I have something to say to everyone." All eyes fixed on Scorpius. Stevens, who had entered the dining room with a tray of chocolate fondant puddings, paused to stare. "We'll have coffee in the library," Scorpius said.

Stevens turned to Lucius for confirmation.

"Don't look at me. I'm only the head of this household."

"I beg your pardon, Grandfather," Scorpius said. "May we have coffee in the library after dinner?"

"Very well." Lucius gestured for Stevens to serve the dessert course.

Scorpius ate a spoonful of the gooey-centred pudding to be polite. It might as well have been tasteless. He was already having second thoughts about his last-minute plan, which was feeling more like a rash impulse he should have ignored. He noticed that Rose hadn't eaten any more of her pudding than he had. Scorpius asked, "Would you care for something else?"

"Coffee in the library, perhaps?" Lucius drawled. "None of us are eating. We may as well gather in the library like suspects in a mystery novel."

"The Bletchleys threw a murder mystery party last month," Narcissa told Rose, who seemed surprised by his grandfather's comment. "I was the femme fatale, and Lucius got to play the incompetent Auror. He was so amusing."

"I'm sure," Rose said. As she and Scorpius trailed behind his parents and grandparents, she whispered, "Do you think he attached a fake scar to his forehead?"

Scorpius chuckled at the thought.

Rose softly squeezed his hand. "That's better," she said. "I missed your smile at dinner."

He leaned down to confide in her ear, "Nerves."

Her fingers tightened around his. "You're doing the right thing."

He wasn't as confident.

Rose said, "You can always pretend we're suspects in a mystery novel. You'll be the brilliant Auror, and I'll play the femme fatale. When we get home . . . ." Her mouth curved seductively.

He brought her hand to his lips.

 

In a way, it did help to view his family as characters from a mystery novel. It put the family dynamics into perspective. Lucius was the pure-blooded patriarch, Narcissa the grand dame who treasured her position in society. Astoria was the daughter-in-law who didn't fit the family mould. Since she'd given her husband an heir, however, she was forgiven her eccentricities. Draco was the son doted on by his mother and a disappointment to his father, who expected too much and encouraged too little. Rose was the outsider, invited to dinner because of her relationship with the grandson who respected family traditions even as he refused to be bound by them.

Once he stood beside the fireplace, with his parents and Rose sitting together on the long leather sofa and his grandparents in adjoining upholstered chairs with Stevens placing the coffee tray on a low table, however, Scorpius couldn't pretend that he was a brilliant Auror. He didn't feel like a brilliant anything. He'd made mistakes, and he needed their help.

He said, "We're a family. We don't all share the same beliefs, but that doesn't matter. We have to support each other."

"Hear, hear," Lucius muttered.

Scorpius said, "And that means we have to respect each other. No more threatening to leave the country, and no more threatening to disinherit."

Lucius snapped, "You said you didn't read the letter."

"I didn't. Father started shrinking his furniture to move to Paris," Scorpius said. "He wasn't upset over the thought that I'd give in to the demand to wear business robes at the office every day."

_"Paris?"_  Narcissa pressed a hand against her chest. "Isn't the flat in London enough?"

Draco said, "I don't remember threatening to move." He frowned. "What letter? What demands?"

Scorpius told him, "Dad, you don't remember because I cast a Memory Charm."

"No."

"I had to," he said. "We need you to stay."

"Yes, think about my blood pressure," Narcissa said.

"Why? You don't unless it's convenient," Astoria said. "Using guilt to pressure someone is as bad as making threats."

Lucius told Narcissa, "She should know, considering the way she's held our grandson over our heads since his conception."

Astoria balled her hands into fists. "I never said you wouldn't be allowed to see him."

"Her family didn't teach her Occlumency, and you were using Legilimency against us," Draco said.

Lucius replied icily, "I was doing my duty as your father."

Draco shot back, "You were trying to break us apart!"

_"That's what they want."_ Scorpius hadn't meant to speak so loudly, but it worked: the arguing stopped. He said, "There are Knights of Walpurgis who want to see our family break apart. They want to use it to prove Lucius Malfoy is getting old and weak, and younger, stronger pure-bloods should lead." Scorpius told his father what he'd told Harry and Albus, "If you don't care about that, you should." He looked at each of them. "Everyone should."

"He gets his dramatic flair from my side of the family," Narcissa said.

At least she sounded proud about it. Scorpius said, "I've kept things from you, Dad, because I didn't want you to worry about me."

"Draco's sensitive," Narcissa said.

Lucius muttered, "Anxiety-ridden from birth."

"What was that?" Narcissa asked frostily. When Lucius didn't reply, she told Scorpius, "Go on."

He said, "I've tried to reassure you, but nothing's worked. Deep down, you can't believe that I'd go to the Walpurgis Club and be friends with Knights if I didn't subconsciously share their views." Scorpius took a deep breath and said, "I can make an Unbreakable Vow that I don't."

Draco asked, "Then why—"

"I don't want the Knights of Walpurgis to become Death Eaters again." Scorpius had started out wanting to uncover the truth about Stop Snitching flyers, to search files for evidence of wrongdoing. Discovering Edgar's plan to undermine Lucius led him to deduce the possible end games. Violence. Crime. War. "Grandfather is the only leader in the Knights who can prevent it from happening."

Draco didn't look convinced. "What makes you think he ever stopped being a Death Eater?"

"Yes," Lucius drawled, "Why would I falter in my devotion? I profited so much from my allegiance during the war. I was accorded the highest privilege and favour, my vault filled with gold." His tone sharpened. "I've spent the last two decades building up what the Dark Lord plundered and tore down. I won't let anyone take it from me."

Scorpius said, "The 'New Trio' photograph in the paper was supposed to embarrass Grandfather, but he used it to call for the end of discrimination against Slytherins. He's working to ensure their future prosperity. It gives them something to rally around."

"It's a pre-emptive strike against my enemy," Lucius said with satisfaction.

"Enemy?" Draco asked. "Scorpius said there were Knights—"

"Led by Edgar Goyle," Lucius said. He smiled a little at the shock on his son's face. "History repeats itself."

"Gregory wasn't anyone's best mate. Not even Vincent's. Edgar isn't like him," Draco said.

"Agreed. He's far more intelligent and cunning," Lucius replied.

Narcissa said, "He gets that from the Bulstrodes. They only look thick."

"Scorpius, have you talked to Edgar?" Astoria asked. "Has all this been confirmed?" At his nod, she came over to hug him. "I'm sorry."

Draco walked over to pat Scorpius on the arm. "I'm sorry I threatened to leave. We'll be here for you, son."

Lucius said, "If the  _charming_ display of family unity is over, Stevens is waiting to serve coffee."

They smilingly disengaged. Scorpius sat closer than necessary to Rose on the sofa. His shoulder and thigh pressed hers. "It's a display of partner unity," he whispered when Rose slanted a questioning look.

"Something you'd like to share with the rest of us?" his grandfather asked.

Rose said, "He suggested we all go out to dinner one night. I think it's a brilliant idea."

His parents agreed enthusiastically, his grandparents with noticeable reserve. Schedules and restaurants were discussed over coffee. When he thought no one would notice, Scorpius whispered to Rose, "You play the Auror and I'll be the homme fatale."

Her eyes sparkled.

Lucius heaved an aggrieved sigh.

Scorpius said, "Grandfather, Rose and I would like a word in private with you before we go."

The room became tensely silent.

"On a . . . personal . . . matter?" Narcissa asked.

"No, ma'am," Scorpius answered.

His family visibly relaxed. His parents and grandmother claimed tiredness and said goodnight. Stevens removed the coffee tray.

"What just happened?" Scorpius asked.

Lucius said dryly, "They thought you wanted to speak with me about becoming engaged."

_"Not yet,"_  he and Rose said, almost in unison. They laughed.

His grandfather had enough tact not to say "Thank Merlin," although Scorpius could tell he wanted to. He paused to let them regain their composure and then asked what they wanted to speak with him about.

"The Stop Snitching flyers in Diagon Alley," Scorpius said. "Who's behind them?"

"I require a wizard's handshake that what I say will remain confidential, and once I answer your question, you will answer one of mine," Lucius said. After Scorpius and Rose each made the binding promise, they followed Lucius over to his desk and watched him remove a flyer from a drawer. He handed it to Scorpius. "Rufus Scrimgeour's propaganda during the last war was my inspiration."

The flyer proclaimed:

**STAMP OUT THE ENEMY!**

Alongside the bold words was a drawing of a wizard with an upheld wand and upraised boot. A tiny Death Eater was drawn prostrate, ready to be stomped. At the bottom of the page in smaller bolded font Scorpius read:

**BE AWARE OF DEATH EATERS. REPORT TO THE MINISTRY IF YOU SPOT ANY SUSPICIOUS WIZARDS.**

"I couldn't step inside the club without someone complaining that an Auror had showed up in the park when he was celebrating his child's birthday, or at a restaurant when he was entertaining clients or taking his wife out for dinner," Lucius said. "The men weren't under surveillance. They weren't followed. Someone had told the Aurors where they would be and when they would be there."

"Informers," Rose said.

Lucius said grimly, "Knights started accusing each other in meetings. Dissension was growing. It had to stop."

"Has it?" Scorpius asked.

"Somewhat." That was as close as his grandfather would come to admitting failure.

Scorpius said, "Ask me why it hasn't worked."

"Tell me why you brought up the matter."

Rose said boldly, "Uncle Harry wants to know whether the flyers are meant to cover up something the Knights have done, or something they plan to do."

"He isn't aware that Knights are snitching to Aurors," Scorpius said. He told his grandfather, "You and Harry Potter have something in common."

Lucius curled his lip. "Merlin forbid."

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I saw the STAMP OUT THE ENEMY! Scrimgeour propoganda flyer on Harry Potter Wiki and found it inspirational. :)


	39. Informative Chats

 

His grandfather's distaste over the thought of having something in common with Harry Potter didn't outweigh his curiosity. Lucius exhaled heavily and said in a long-suffering tone, "Very well, since you want to tell me so badly, what do Potter and I have in common?"

Scorpius said, "I require a wizard's handshake that what I say will remain confidential." He couldn't allow the Knights to get their hands on the potion and use it for similar ends.

"Enjoying throwing my words back at me, are you?" Lucius shook hands and cursed when magic bound him to his promise. His eyebrows rose when Scorpius massaged his hand, thumb rubbing in circles and pressing acupressure points. He grumbled, "I don't need your coddling. I've experienced worse pain." But he didn't pull his hand away.

Scorpius smiled a little and let go. "You and Harry Potter both have subordinates following their own agendas. His are spiking targets' drinks with a potion to make them agreeable to talk and then using the information to harass other Knights."

"He told you this?"

"I discovered it on my own. When I tell him—"

Lucius scoffed. "You think he doesn't already know?"

"You didn't."

Instead of pinning him a withering look, Lucius gazed at him thoughtfully. "If that's truly the case," he said, "Then Potter will make an example of those men and their potions maker. Suspension or dismissal."

"I'll pass along your suggestion." Scorpius wasn't about to dictate terms.

"See that you do," Lucius said. "And while you're chatting, be sure to mention that the Ministry employee selling Micro Trackingbralls has yet to be found. It would be a shame if the  _Daily Prophet_  got hold of the story. The public loses trust in government so quickly."

"Uncle Harry should be home tonight," Rose said.

Lucius smiled thinly. "Time is of the essence."

Scorpius said, "We'll show ourselves out." 

He would have used Side-Along Apparation to head straight to London, but Rose reminded him of their plan to have cabbies affirm that they were in good spirits before  _and_ after the family dinner. As the entrance gates closed magically behind them, Scorpius held his wand in the air and summoned a Squire Cab to take them to the Salisbury Floo Station. From there, they'd Floo to London and Apparate to Grimmauld Place.

Rose slid her arms around him. "You don't look happy," she said. "What can I do to change that?" She stood on tiptoes to kiss him.

They were both smiling when the cab arrived.

 

Neither of them smiled when Teddy Lupin opened the door instead of Kreacher. "What are you doing here?" Teddy asked.

"Nice shirt," Scorpius said. Teddy wore a Puddlemere United official practice jersey. "We're here to talk to Harry."

"Ted, who's at the door?" Albus walked into the entrance hall. He wore a Holyhead Harpies shirt. "Hey, come in, you two, didn't expect to see you so soon, and all dressed up. Did you throw  _another_  party?"

"We went out to dinner," Scorpius said.

"Without me?" Albus grinned and shut the door. "Some New Trio we are."

Rose playfully elbowed him. "You're the third wheel."

At the other end of the corridor, the door to the basement opened. "My phantom ear itches when there's mischief being managed without me," George Weasley called out, strolling toward them. He wore a Harpies shirt.

"My ear itches from being touched by those old Extendable Ears," Ron said. His orange shirt had a speeding cannonball and 1892 printed in black across the chest.

George said, "Fred may have dusted that side with itching powder once." He sighed nostalgically while Ron yelped.

"We need to speak with Uncle Harry," Rose said. "We didn't know we'd be interrupting . . . whatever we're interrupting."

"Poker night."

"Listening to Quidditch on the wireless."

George and Ron, who had spoken at the same time, exchanged annoyed, I-was-supposed-to-do-the-talking looks.

"Poker night while listening to a Quidditch match on the wireless," Teddy said.

Rose appeared ready to let the matter slide, but Scorpius couldn't resist saying, "The Wigtown Wanderers against the Falmouth Falcons?" They were the worst teams in the British and Irish Quidditch League. He doubted anyone except the teams' friends and family were listening to the match, and even they might turn the volume down as low as possible.

The four men exchanged glances.

Albus said, "I don't see why we can't tell them."

"Family only," Teddy replied.

"Blokes only," Ron said. "But not James. We don't want a repeat of last season."

George grimaced. "Current and former professionals have an unfair advantage."

Rose said, "Don't tell me you're running that Fantasy Quidditch League again?"

None of the men answered.

Rose put her hands on her hips. "Well?"

"You told them not to tell you," Scorpius said, before asking, "Is Harry in the kitchen? We'll go down and speak with him and then be on our way."

" _Kreacher's making tea."_

Harry’s disembodied voice made Rose and her father startle.

"I hate it when he does that," Ron said. He raised his voice. "Creepy, Harry. Really creepy."

" _Sounding like a sore loser, mate."_

"I picked too many Cannons players to be on my fantasy team," Ron said in response to Scorpius's enquiring look. "I need to exchange one."

"You use real-life player statistics to compete against someone else's team each week?" Scorpius asked.

"Yeah." Ron let George lead the way down the stairs. "There are ten of us in the league, but only half of us made it to this week's meeting." He made a face. "If you couldn't tell, my team lost to Harry's."

Scorpius said, "If you trade your low performing veteran for a rookie that's about to catch fire, it might turn your stats around."

Ron stopped in his tracks. "You, uh, have any recommendations?"

Scorpius whispered a couple of names.

"Is that the sound of someone gaining an unfair advantage?" George asked from the stairway.

"What was that? I couldn't hear you. I was too busy scratching my ear," Ron said loudly.

"Ahem," Albus said. "As part of the New Trio, I think if Scorpius helps anyone have an unfair advantage it should be me."

"Stop saying that," Teddy said with a growl in his voice. "New Trio my arse. I'm sick of hearing it."

Scorpius glanced over his shoulder. Rose shook her head at him, narrowing her eyes when he didn't heed her unspoken command and asked, "Who brought it up?"

"Teddy's mates. They interrupted his afternoon nap to haul him down to the Iron Shackle for an interrogation session," Albus said. "He's been in a nark ever since."

"They said I need to choose between loyalty to family and loyalty to the department," Teddy said.

Rose snapped, "That's unfair."

Scorpius asked, "These mates of yours. Are they assigned to the surveillance team watching Knights of Walpurgis?"

"Colleagues, not mates," Teddy said, "And no. Some of them talk about it, but our badges are too new and shiny. We mostly investigate reports of Dark magic."

" _Tea's getting cold,"_  Harry's amplified voice reminded them.

"He always does that," Albus said apologetically.

"Because he's creepy," Ron replied before stomping downstairs.

 

Half the kitchen table was covered in scrolls of parchment. "The chosen teams?" Scorpius asked.

Ron tapped a couple of the scrolls. "Rolf and Bill have the, er, players you recommended."

"Whose team are you playing next week?"

"Louis's." Ron gestured to two adjacent scrolls.

Scorpius skimmed the four team rosters. "Is the veteran you want to trade a Chaser or a Keeper?"

"Keeper."

"Offer Rolf your player for his second Reserve Seeker."

"And I'll win?"

_With more Cannons players on his team?_  "If nothing else you'll make Louis nervous." Scorpius moved away to sit between Rose and Albus.

"Got to keep our trio together," Albus said jokingly.

Across the table, Teddy glowered as he sat between Ron and George. "Say that one more time and I'll hex you."

"One against three?" Scorpius drawled. "Not very good odds."

George snickered.

Teddy's eyes darkened to black. "What is this, take the piss out of Ted day?"

"Sorry," Albus said, "I expect to be hearing  _New Trio_ comments for as long as those two stay together, which—no offense, Uncle Ron—could be the rest of my life. I prefer to be the one laughing about it. You choose whether or not to let what people say get to you,  _Ted_."

"Is that right? I think I have something to repay those words of wisdom,  _Al_." Teddy put his hand into a jeans pocket and removed it to flick the V at Albus.

Scorpius was surprised into a chuckle.

"Don't encourage him," Rose said, smiling.

Albus grinned. "It's all for one and one for all, so he flicked all three of us off."

"That's enough," Harry said. He told Scorpius and Rose, "I was informed that you two went to dinner at Malfoy Manor."

"You didn't tell me that," Ron said.

Harry replied, "We were talking Quidditch."

Albus, Teddy, and George nodded as if the answer was reasonable. After a few more seconds of glowering, Ron shrugged.

Teacups appeared in front of each person. Kreacher shuffled over to the table, teapot in hand. "Cold tea is not proper to serve to guests. Kreacher makes a fresh pot." He poured tea into Harry's cup, and then served Rose, Scorpius and Albus. "Kreacher keeps the picture of the New Trio in his den," he told them.

"Kind of you," Scorpius said.

"Want one of me?" George asked. "I've been featured in the  _Prophet_  with and without two ears."

Kreacher considered the offer for a moment. "No, thank you, Mr. George."

Ron snorted.

"He doesn't want a photo of you either," George said.

"I wasn't offering," Ron shot back.

" _Dad_ ," Rose said with a rebuking frown.

"Unless he wants one," Ron added quickly.

Kreacher shook his head as he poured Teddy tea. "But Kreacher thanks Mr. Ronald for the offer." He finished serving tea and then offered them shell-shaped madeleine biscuits arranged on a silver tray.

"This is a first," Ron said as he took four biscuits. "We usually make do with store bought choccy digestives."

"Blacks does not eat store bought digestives," Kreacher said.

"What about Malfoys?" Albus asked.

Scorpius wasn't going to hurt Kreacher's feelings by admitting that he had nothing against store bought digestives. He took two madeleine biscuits, "These look delicious. Thank you."

Kreacher stood and watched him eat. "Mmm," Scorpius said.

"Yes, very delicious. I'll call you if we need anything," Harry told Kreacher, who reluctantly went to his den and took a long time closing the door.

Ron dunked his biscuit in his tea and lifted it to his mouth. "It's a calculated risk," he said, "sopping up the right amount of tea and eating the biscuit before it dissolves."

"How often do you fail?" Scorpius asked.

Ron's next attempt at dunking a biscuit ended with half the madeleine floating in his teacup. He said, "More often with cakey biscuits. What did you want to speak to Harry about?"

The switch in topic brought Scorpius's gaze to Rose. How did she want to handle this?

She said, "Do you remember the potion Barry Boot gave to Scorpius at Lumos Duo?" When her dad nodded, she said, "A group of Aurors are using it—completely unauthorised, I'm sure—to gain information to harass Knights of Walpurgis."

"A serious allegation," Harry said.

Scorpius replied, "My grandfather expects you to investigate and make an example of those involved."

"Or what?" Ron asked.

"He didn't say," Scorpius replied. It wasn't a lie. Lucius had implied that he would tip the  _Daily_   _Prophet_  off about a different matter. "He's also concerned that the person selling Micro-rackingbralls hasn't been found."

"That's because Ministry employees aren't selling them," Harry replied. "I ordered an inventory and every Trackingbrall in the department is accounted for. The badge the person used was fake or stolen."

Scorpius asked George, "What about the Micro-Trackingbralls you've been working on in the lab?"

George laughed a little. "I have better security wards than the Department of Mysteries."

"Not the best example," Harry said.

Ron replied, "He meant they're impossible to break. Only George and I know the counter spells."

He sounded absolutely sure, but George's eyes held a flicker of unease. Scorpius asked, "Are the spells written down anywhere?"

"No one could find them," George said.

_Not even someone compelled to help her lover?_  Scorpius looked at Rose. She nodded and said, "I think we should double-check your inventory."


	40. Gone Girl

 

Scorpius was relieved that Rose was the one to suggest they double check the Weasleys' inventory of Trackingbralls. If he'd suggested it George might've hexed him. Something dangerous had flashed in brown eyes, an unsettling reminder that there were Black branches in George’s family tree. According to Grandmother Narcissa, Blacks despised being told what to do almost as much as they hated being told they were wrong.

After a tense moment, George relaxed. "I'll do it first thing in the morning."

Rose gave Scorpius look that said _your turn_.

He said, "Now would be better."

Harry asked, "Is there a particular reason why?"

"Something you're not telling us?" Teddy added.

Scorpius repressed the urge to snap, "Of course there is, dunderhead!" He was a Malfoy, not a Black. He had self-control—and a feeling that only Severus Snape could say "dunderhead" without sounding like a twit. He asked Ron, "Would you help us, sir?"

Ron glanced at Rose and then told his brother, "I'll do the inventory if you want to go home to Angie."

"What about Hermione?" George asked. "Don't you want to go home to her?"

"I'll send my Patronus. She'll meet us at the shop."

"Teddy, Albus and I will come along in official capacity," Harry said.

George's eyes narrowed. "Are Ginny and Victoire going to show up too? Is this turning into another date night adventure?"

Harry's eyebrows rose. "I hadn't—"

"Right," George said. "I'm off to get Angie." He left the kitchen.

"Victoire's having a girls' night with her sisters," Teddy said glumly.

Harry's smile commiserated. "Ginny's writing an article with a tight deadline."

"Merry's recording a song with her father," Albus said. "Not that anyone asked me."

"It isn't a date night, anyway," Ron told them as he removed his wand from his pocket. "We're just double checking inventory."

Scorpius might have believed him if Ron hadn't transfigured his Cannons tee into a blue fitted shirt.

 

They gathered in the alley behind Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. Hermione and Angelina both wore workout clothes and trainers. In an odd way, the wide range of attire from semi-formal to casual highlighted their seriousness. It was worth dropping everything to rush over and find out if lab security had been breached.

George waved his wand. The steel door glowed briefly. "No one's tried to force their way in." He reached for the handle.

"Wait," Scorpius said. "Has anyone countered the wards tonight?" Faces turned to him in surprise. He said, "You use a variation of Human-presence-revealing Spell." One his parents and grandparents cast whenever they returned to the manor after an absence, because there were ways to counter wards without using force.

"I've never heard of it," Hermione said, sounding chagrined.

"You don't need it," George said. "Your house is Unplottable."

The shop wasn't. Scorpius told him, "The spell's simple. Point your wand, there's no flick or swish."

George held out his wand and repeated the spell after Scorpius. A pale green flame appeared above the door handle before flickering out. George cursed. "Does that mean what I think it means?"

Scorpius said, "The wards were countered hours ago."

"Teryn could have remembered that she left something at the shop and came back to get it," Ron said.

"She doesn't have a wand. She can't counter wards." George cast a spell and then opened the door.

"I always forget that," Ron mumbled.

"To your credit," Hermione said.

Scorpius stepped back to let the others enter. Rose took his hand. "We can't."

He said, "I know what they're going to find. We need to speak with Teryn."

"They may miss something," she said, "and if we leave now we make it obvious that we suspect her." Her hand tugged his and he reluctantly followed her inside.

The sound of urgent voices coming from the open door leading to the stockroom and testing labs reinforced Scorpius's belief that the Micro-Trackingbrall prototype George had been working on had been stolen. He kept walking when Rose would have stopped. "Let's check the shop." As he feared, the display of Incognito Potion was reduced to empty shelving.

Scorpius clenched a fist.  _Damn you, Edgar._

"She must have used a Capacious Bag," Rose said. "It doesn't make sense. Why steal when the potions could have been bought anonymously?" Her face paled. They both knew the answer. Teryn didn't plan on returning.

Albus walked into the shop. "There you are!"

Rose's smile turned down at the corners. "You seem relieved. Did you think we'd gone to warn Teryn?"

"I told them you wouldn't do that," Albus said. His gaze flickered between them. "Was I wrong?"

"We have to speak with her before anyone else," Scorpius said. "Come with us. It might be useful to have an Auror badge to flash around."

Albus gestured to his Puddlemere United t-shirt. "Because I look so official."

"You look like your father. That's all you'll ever need." Scorpius strode toward the front entrance.

"Come on, Al," Rose said. "Doesn't the fact that we want you to come with us prove that we aren't trying to subvert justice?"

"You're trying to undermine my better judgment." Al raised his voice. "This isn't Borgin and Burkes, Scorpius. Alarms sound if you open doors from the inside after hours."

"Then we'd better Disapparate quickly." Scorpius pushed open the front door. "Silent alarm?"

"Not in the lab or the MLE!" Al grabbed Rose's hand and sprinted to the door.

 

Scorpius Apparated to the pavement in front of Teryn's building a couple of seconds before Rose appeared with Albus. "They have to look up her address. We'll have a few minutes before they show up."

"Get on with it, then," Albus said. "If I'm going to be kicked out of the Auror program, I want it to count for something."

Rose rolled her eyes and went into the lobby, Scorpius and Albus close behind. When she knocked on Teryn's door, it swung open into the flat.

Al took out his badge and his wand. "Auror Office," he called out. "Auror Potter entering the premises."

Scorpius cast protection charms while Rose cast a Lumos spell with enough strength to light up every illumination orb in the flat if there had been any. From what Scorpius could see, the flat had been completely emptied. Rose's eyes were wide with distress. He controlled his own response. Emotions would only get in the way. "I'll cast curse detection spells," he said. "Rose is lighting the way. Albus, be ready to protect us."

The place was wiped clean. Edgar had been thorough. No fingerprints, no fibres that could be used in tracking spells, nothing. They were examining the safe room when the rest of the family arrived, shouting their names. Like guilty children who'd run ahead of parents to explore Diagon Alley, the three of them returned to the lounge. Tense faces greeted them. Ron, especially, resembled a volcano on the verge of eruption. Scorpius kept his back to the wall and Rose in front of him, which led to a new dilemma. With his emotions in check, his body urged him to do something about all the bare skin revealed by his partner's strapless dress. The spot where her throat curved was especially inviting. He wanted to kiss it, to rake his teeth against her skin and feel her shiver. He took off his dinner jacket and draped it over her shoulders.

Albus said, "We left the shop hoping to speak with Teryn and gain her cooperation, but she was gone when we arrived—along with everything else. Nothing was left behind." He recounted how they'd found the open door and the procedures used to enter and search the premises.

Teddy scoffed. "They put you in charge?"

"He's the Auror," Scorpius said. "Rose and I are merely concerned friends."

"Is that right?" Ron asked Rose.

"I'm more than concerned," she said. "Teryn's been kidnapped."

"I agree," Angelina said. "I've talked with Teryn. She's a nice girl, grateful to have friends and a job. She wouldn't steal from us."

"Not unless she was coerced," Hermione said firmly.

"By someone who liked her furniture so much they nicked it too?" Teddy asked.

Scorpius remembered his father's determination to leave the manor. "All it takes is Shrinking Spells."

"How would you know?" Teddy asked. "Cast any Shrinking Spells lately? Mind if we check your wand?"

"That's enough," Harry said. "We need to work together to find Teryn." Authority rang in his voice. "Albus, Scorpius, and Rose will return to Grimmauld Place. I'll interview you separately and each of you will give a written statement." As they started to move toward the door, Harry said, "I suggest we all leave through the bedroom window. Neighbours are gathering outside."

"The last thing I need to see is more New Trio photographs in the papers," Teddy said.

Scorpius drawled, "We could make it a quartet."

It didn't take long for Teddy to catch his meaning. His jaw went slack. Everyone else stared like they wondered if Scorpius was having them on or being serious. He was the first one to climb out the bedroom window.

 

Once inside the entry hall at Grimmauld Place, Albus said, "Let's go down to the kitchen. Kreacher can vouch that we didn't talk about what happened to get our stories to match."

Scorpius said, "There isn't much to tell. We left the shop and searched Teryn's empty flat." He glanced at Rose. After a moment's hesitation, she nodded.

_"Kreacher is not able to vouch if no one comes down to the kitchen."_

Rose didn't startle. She shrugged, which told Scorpius that after everything they'd been through, a disembodied voice wasn't alarming anymore. She took off his jacket.

"Keep it," he said.

"I'm not cold."

He gave her a meaningful look. "Neither am I."

"We have a coat closet." Albus pressed a hand against a side wall and a panel slid open to reveal a recessed space with a bar and hangers.

Scorpius headed for the stairs.

Kreacher was arranging plates of cake slices on a tray in the kitchen. Scorpius said, "You didn't have to go to so much trouble."

"Lemon drizzle cake and sherbet lemon tea always put Headmaster Dumbledore in good humour when he was out of sorts." Kreacher's sly smile implied the tea and cake improved Harry's humour too.

"Give him the largest slice," Scorpius said.

Kreacher's raspy chuckle became a coughing fit.

" _Humiditatum!_ " The moment Scorpius cast the spell, water vapour turned the kitchen into a steam room. " _Accio_  turmeric powder!  _Accio_  milk!" Albus and Rose walked as Scorpius caught the bottles and set them on the worktop.

"What are you doing?" Albus asked.

"Home remedies," Scorpius answered. "My father treated every cough as a medical emergency, so I know what works." He took a mug out of a cupboard, pouring and stirring before using a Warming Charm to heat the milk. "Drink," he told Kreacher.

The coughing stopped.

"Take better care of your health," Scorpius said. He tried to cheer with a little black humour. "You can't serve anyone if your head's mounted on the wall."

A tear slipped down Kreacher's wrinkled cheek. "Mistress always said that to Kreacher."

Of course she did. That's why the house elf still lived to serve the House of Black. Scorpius looked at Rose. Humidity had turned sleek waves of hair into damp curls. The fabric of her dress clung to her flushed skin.

Albus cleared his throat. "I agree, mate, steamy looks good on Rose, but I'd appreciate it if you'd cast a de-humidifying spell before you see the kidney pie I had for dinner."

Scorpius cast the counter charm. Albus still looked off colour.

"He needs more air," Rose said. " _Tepsesco!"_

A magical breeze swept through the room.

"Thanks, Rosie," Albus said, breathing deeply. He rubbed a hand across his chest. "Brilliant! My clothes are dry."

Scorpius stared at Rose. Her windblown curls were beyond sexy.

Albus snorted with laughter. "Nice hair, Scorpius."

Even with strands falling into his eyes and across his face, his hair couldn't be as bad as Albus's Shocking Spell victim look. "Can't say the same about yours, mate."

Kreacher's chuckles abruptly stopped. "Master Harry is home."

Albus tried in vain to smooth down unruly spikes. Scorpius didn't care about his own appearance. He went over to Rose and ran his fingers through her curls.

She raised a hand to brush his hair out of his eyes. "Did you use Occlumency to block your emotions?"

He leaned down to kiss the curve of her neck. "You won't have to thaw me out in a hot bath."

" _OK_ , none of us should quit our day jobs to become hair stylists," Albus said in an overly hearty tone. The underlying warning registered in time for Scorpius and Rose to step away from each other before Harry and George entered the kitchen.

"Teddy's questioning the neighbours while Angelina, Ron, and Hermione check to see what else is missing from the shop," Harry said.

"What happened to you three?" George asked. "You look like you've been dragged through a hedge backward."

Albus answered, "Rosie conjured a breeze. It was stuffy down here."

"Tea is served," Kreacher said.

"Al and I will take ours in the lounge upstairs," George said. "I'll keep you company until it's time for Harry to take your statement."

Teacups and plates vanished from the table.

"You're interviewing us together?" Rose asked after Albus and George went upstairs.

"No," Harry said. "Scorpius will wait with Kreacher."

"In his  _den_?"

Harry gave Rose a reproving look. "Kreacher has rooms."

"I'd like to see them," Scorpius said.

The tips of Kreacher's ears turned pink. He shuffled toward his small door. Scorpius ducked to enter.

"Miss Narcissa sat on Kreacher's blankets when Mistress had to lock her in the cupboard." The elf pointed to a spot on the floor beside a stairway.

Scorpius imagined his grandmother perched on dirty blankets, unrepentant of her misbehaviour, vowing to curse her Auntie Walburga's eyebrows off one day. He climbed down the stairs to a room packed with boxes and trunks. Some were closed, but most were open to display their treasures—Black family memorabilia, from the look of the old-fashioned clothing and serpent candelabras. The centre of the hoard was cleared enough to hold two small overstuffed chairs and a low table. A tea tray appeared. Kreacher waved him to a seat.

"My grandmother mentioned pictures." The chair he perched on had a Sizing Charm, thankfully, although Scorpius felt rather like Alice in Wonderland and decided not to eat any cake in case he grew so large he struck his head against the ceiling.

Kreacher shuffled off into the maze of possessions and returned with a black wood box carved with the initials R.A.B. He handed it to Scorpius with the kind of care one would give to a holy relic. Scorpius opened the lid. The family photograph on top of the pile reminded him of the one the Greengrass relations took every Christmas, except that no one in the Black family portrait was smiling. It could have been a photograph from the Victorian Era, except it was in colour and the people smirked or frowned or—in the case of his grandmother and a boy with dark hair and grey eyes—alternated between sulking and glaring at each other.

"Is this Sirius Black?" Scorpius asked. The boy in the photograph sneered.

Kreacher nodded. "Young master Sirius dipped Miss Narcissa's hair into an inkwell," he said in a soft, nostalgic voice. "She slapped him so hard my Mistress had to use a Complexion Charm to fade the mark so the photographer could take the picture."

"Appearance is everything to Blacks," Scorpius said dryly.

"Yes." Kreacher sighed.

An idea sparked. Scorpius handed Kreacher the box. "Thank you. I'll return when I have time to appreciate these properly."

Kreacher trailed him up the stairs. "But young master Scorpius is supposed to stay with Kreacher until Master Harry calls for him."

"I can't wait."

Rose saw him exit the cupboard first. "I'm almost finished giving my statement," she said, while her eyes asked what was wrong.

He said, "I have to do something before I give mine."

Harry's sharp owlish gaze reminded Scorpius that owls were fierce predators. "What?"

"Talk to someone."

"No." Rose stood. "That's a bad idea."

Scorpius said, "Not if he thinks he's talking to someone else."

" _He_ being Edgar Goyle, and you'll pretend to be Nathaniel Nott using the Polyjuice Potion I sent you," Harry said. "You don't need it for its original purpose now that we know Lucius was behind the Stop Snitching flyers."

Owls also saw more than people gave them credit for. "I'll return as soon as possible."

"I'm not letting you go alone," Rose said.

"You'd have to use a Disillusionment Charm and wait across the street."

"Albus and George will keep her company while I go to the Ministry," Harry said. "If you take longer than fifteen minutes they'll summon me, and I'll bring a team to arrest everyone in Goyle House."

"Edgar won't hurt me," Scorpius said.

"Don't underestimate him," Harry replied. "He was clever enough to make everyone believe he'd ended his relationship with Teryn. He's clever enough to fool you too."

_No fingerprints, no fibres that could be used in tracking spells, nothing._

"I'll keep that in mind." And before Scorpius saw Edgar, he'd visit Nathaniel.

 

 


	41. Nott Surprised

 

Nathaniel lived in a building accessed from a narrow cobblestone lane between an apothecary shop and the Sleazy Kneazle at the end of Knockturn Alley. The blocks of wizard owned flats on each side of the lane were equally rundown and grimy, mould on their bricks dark as the inkvines latched to every crevice. As Scorpius approached the entrance, a rat scuttled too close to the inkvines. Whip like tendrils grabbed the rat. He edged around the carnivorous vines strangling their dinner and hoped the landlord enforced a no pet policy.

Enchanted torches on the verge of burning out created more shadows than light inside the building. Scorpius cast Shield and Wand-Lighting Charms before climbing the stairs. Over lunch, Nathaniel had mentioned that his flat was on the second floor. "Keeps me fit," he'd joked. The fitness likely came from running up the stairs to avoid being mugged by one of his dodgy neighbours.

Scorpius held his wand low to keep from impairing his vision and ascended the stairs, ready to cast a Body Bind Charm on any would-be robber. He encountered no one. A relief, he told himself, not a disappointment. In his current state of mind, he would have displaced his anger at Edgar and kicked his assailant down the stairs.

He knocked on Nathaniel's door and listened to half a dozen locks opening before his friend greeted him with a surprised smile.

The group approved plan was for him to use a Memory Charm to make Nathaniel think he'd fallen asleep reading a book, borrow clothing, and leave. Scorpius decided to modify it.

"I apologise for dropping by without notice," he said. "May I come in?"

"Of course. Of course." Nathaniel backed into a long room furnished with mismatched bookshelves crammed with books and comics, a sofa bed, and a small kitchen unit. "Did you hear about the sale at Warlock Comics?" He wore a black t-shirt with a Z made out of flames on the front.

"Zod t-shirts?" Scorpius guessed.

"Half price." Nathaniel eyed Scorpius's dinner jacket. "You didn't stop by because you were in the neighbourhood, did you?"

"No." There was no time to gradually broach the subject. "I need you to be my Secret Keeper."

Nathaniel gulped. "Did you use an Unforgivable Curse?" He held up a hand. "Tell me after the spell." Once the spell was cast, he asked, "Did you?"

Scorpius shook his head. "I'm trying to stop a group of Knights working to overthrow the current leadership."

"Your grandfather."

"And the others who value prosperity over war."

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it," Nathaniel said sadly. "We never win."

"So you'll help me?"

Nathaniel nodded, and then asked, "How?"

Scorpius removed the vial of Polyjuice Potion from his jacket pocket. "Tonight, I need to impersonate you to question someone. In the future, I'll ask you to do some . . . research . . . for me."

"The someone is Edgar, isn't it?" Nathaniel said.

Why did everyone insist on naming names? Nathaniel's sympathy was harder to take than Grandfather Lucius's anger. Scorpius smiled thinly. "That's why I'm going to pretend to be you."

"Because you're not his friend anymore."

_He's still my friend._  Scorpius said, "It's complicated."

Nathaniel gave him another pitying look, and then his eyes widened. "What if Edgar mentions the conversation later?"

"You'll tell him you don't know what he's talking about."

"I—I don't lie very well."

"You won't be lying." Scorpius cast the Memory Charm and dragged Nathaniel over to the sofa when he fell asleep standing up. "You'll only remember becoming my Secret Keeper and agreeing to search the records for me." He lifted Nathaniel's legs onto the sofa. "Thanks, mate."

Nathaniel didn't have an extensive wardrobe. Four sets of wizard robes, a decent suit, a few trousers and dress shirts. He probably spent all his extra Galleons on books. Scorpius put his shoes on the floor next to scuffed brown loafers, hung up his suit and cast Resizing Charms. He added the hair he'd taken from Nathaniel's robes to the Polyjuice Potion vial. Immediately, the muddy potion turned a pale cream colour. It didn't look bad. He drank the Polyjuice and smirked a little. Nathaniel was vanilla.

The magic kicked in.

Scorpius doubled over, clutching his stomach. His guts were writhing like bagged snakes trying to get free. His body was fighting the potion. He gave a sigh to relax and then took a deep breath, held it, and let it out slowly. The moment his mind and body accepted the Polyjuice, the magic slid through muscle and skin, reshaping him to match the hair added to the potion.

Scorpius viewed his reflection in the square mirror on the wall beside the door. Nathaniel's long face stared back at him. How odd to literally view the world through someone else's eyes. "You look like you've been dragged through a hedge," he said. Apparently, Polyjuice Charms had no hairstyling component. He opened his eyes a little wider. "Should I comb my hair?" He had the anxious tone and expression down. It came easy after being dorm-mates with Nathaniel for seven years. He shook his head: a quick, nervous shake. "N—no, I'm too rattled to fuss over my appearance." He dressed in a beige button up shirt and trousers that matched the scuffed loafers and left the flat.

 

He Apparated to the cracked pavement across from Goyle House. No one was around. No one visible, at any rate.

_"About time."_ The voice belonged to George Weasley. "Standing here observing the night life in this shit-hole neighbourhood isn't how I planned to spend my evening."

"We said it wasn't date night," Albus's voice came from the same area as George's. He sounded amused.

Unseen fingers clasped Scorpius's. Rose whispered, "How did it go with Nathaniel?"

"I made a few adjustments to the plan," he whispered back. "I'll tell you later."

"What was that?" George asked.

"Everything's good," Scorpius replied. He told Rose, "Wish me luck," and let go of her hand.

George's voice followed him across the street. "Fifteen minutes!"

As if he'd forget. Scorpius got into character, swallowing hard as he lifted a hand to the serpent door knocker.

_Tap! Tap! Tap!_

He paced the wide front step. Knocked again. When Edgar opened the door instead of a servant, Scorpius stammered, "Oh! Hullo. I—I need to talk to you." What he really wanted to do was punch Edgar in the face, cast a Body Bind, and haul him down to the Ministry and let Aurors pour Veritaserum down his throat, but that wouldn't help Teryn or his grandfather. He wrung his hands to keep them from curling into fists. "About Malfoy." He glanced over his shoulder as if afraid he'd been followed. "May I come in?"

Edgar backed into the entry hall.

The overpowering smell of cleaning products he remembered—Millicent Goyle didn't believe anything was disinfected if she couldn't smell chemicals—now battled against a floral room freshener spell. Marianne's doing, he was sure. The clashing odours wrinkled his nose. He shut the door and followed Edgar down a corridor to the library.

Books on the shelves were bought at an estate auction by Edgar's grandfather for decorative purposes, but Scorpius, being Nathaniel, asked, "Have you read all these?"

"No." Edgar sat on the edge of the hulking desk that dominated the room. He was still wearing wizard robes. If he hadn't been home long enough to take them off, perhaps they could still track Teryn. Edgar asked, "Which Malfoy did you want to talk about?"

"Scorpius. He—uh, came to see me." Scorpius remained standing.

Edgar stretched out a hand and opened the lid of a desktop humidor. "Cigar?"

Scorpius widened his eyes and shook his head.

"No need to look like a spooked horse," Edgar said. "They're elf-made cigars, not Muggle. Keep talking," he said while he went through the steps of lighting a match and slowly turning the cigar over the flame to "toast" the outside wrapper and binder.

"He said you're in trouble if you d—don't return what you stole."

"What kind of trouble?" Edgar blew out the short match and struck a longer wooden match to light the entire end of the cigar as he held it in his mouth.

"Aurors."

Edgar shrugged as he rotated the cigar and drew in air. Aaron's memory of three men smoking and plotting in this room flashed into Scorpius's mind. Edgar displayed the same arrogant confidence now, damn him. "They'll find what you stole and lock you away in Azkaban." It was hard to stay in character, to say anxiously instead of shouting, "You have to give it back."

Edgar exhaled, and flame shot out through the cigar. A puff of smoke came from his mouth as he asked, "Why?"

Scorpius silently cast a charm and punched Edgar's jaw when the cigar exploded. "Because I can't protect you anymore!" He went for a stomach punch since his friend's jaw was as hard as his skull.

_"Expelliarmus!"_

Scorpius's fist struck home. "Shield Charm," he said. " _Expelliarmus_!" The spell blasted Edgar's wand out of his hand and his body across the desk. He fell with a thud on the library rug. Scorpius picked up the wand.

"Wh-what are you g-g-going to d-do with th-that, N-N-N-ott?" Edgar sat up. "Give it to Harry Bloody Potter?" He said tauntingly, "You stammered too much, mate."

"No, I didn't."

"I still knew it was you. Your new best mate and I had a chat the other day about what happens to people who betray the Knights of Walpurgis. He'd piss his pants if you asked him to come here." Edgar pushed to his feet. "What'd you do? Go to his flat and use a Sleeping Charm?"

"He isn't my best mate."

"And I didn't steal anything." Edgar stood beside the desk. "A wizard came in at the end of the day and bought every bottle of Incognito Potion for a company function. He paid in Galleons and didn't identify himself or the company he works for, but Weasley will find gold and the bill of sale to prove it."

"What about the Micro-Trackingbralls?"

"Teryn gave me the first one because I said I wanted to borrow it and give it back. It was defective, anyway. The recording feature didn't work. She dropped the second one in the lab and brought me the glittery remains." Edgar smiled wryly. "Compulsion Charms can't make a person do something they don't want to do. She wanted to make me happy, but she didn't want to steal from the Weasleys."

"Prove it."

"She didn't use a spell to clean up the Trackingbrall. They'll find bits of it if they look."

"Where's Teryn?" Edgar didn't answer. Scorpius said, "Aurors can legally force Veritaserum down your throat."

"And then my wife will find out and Teryn will be dead," Edgar ground out. "Because of you."

"I'm not the one who betrayed my wife."

There was an ominous rumbling noise, and then a book launched toward Scorpius with arrow swiftness, followed by another book, and another until all the books hurled across the room like missiles locked in on a target. His Shield Charm deflected material objects, but the sheer number weakened the charm and allowed Edgar to punch him in the eye. Scorpius's head rocked back. It was like being hit with a rock covered by flesh.

"You betrayed me!" Edgar wrapped his hands around Scorpius's throat. "We could've taken over the Knights, taken on the world and you threw it all away." His fingers tightened. "You filled Teryn's head with dreams of us being a  _normal_  couple."

Scorpius let his body sag, but Edgar easily held up Nathaniel's slighter weight. "Tell me why I shouldn't choke the life out of you." Edgar's words were as much plea as growl.

"We're best mates."

A tear streaked Edgar's broad face as he glared at Scorpius. "Don't you ever read those fucking comics you love so much?" His face twisted. "The hero and his nemesis. Most times they're friends."

Emotional pain left Scorpius reeling in a way unmatched by physical blows. He closed his eyes and used Occlumency to lock his feelings away. He said, "Aurors are standing ready to arrest you and everyone in this house. If you care for Teryn and your mother's health, you'll let me go."

Edgar dropped his hands. "Give me my wand."

"After Aurors test it to confirm you cast no Unforgiveable Curses." He pointed to the desk. "Write and sign a statement that you give permission for that test and no other."

Edgar went to the desk and opened a drawer to retrieve a quill and piece of parchment. "Worried that they'll find I've been casting Dark spells?"

Scorpius glanced around with his left eye, since his right eye was swelling shut. "Remember that time we played Quidditch in your room and knocked all the toys off the shelves?"

"We're not children." Edgar handed him the statement. "I'm not asking you to help put things to rights anymore."

"No, you're not." He turned his back on the mess in the library.

 

A chorus of gasps greeted his return. The Aurors had arrived.

Rose became visible a heartbeat before she threw her arms around him. "You're hurt!"

"A trifling quarrel over the definition of the word nemesis," Scorpius replied. He held up the wand and parchment. "Edgar Goyle denies all charges and handed over his wand to prove that he didn't use the Imperius Curse to force anyone to steal or do anything else." His voice was raspy from Edgar's chokehold.

Harry Potter countered his Disillusionment Charm. "Everyone else stay as you are. I prefer our numbers remain undetected." He asked Scorpius, "Goyle wasn't coerced?"

Didn't his appearance make that obvious? "He freely wrote and signed this statement allowing testing for Unforgivable Curses." Scorpius gave him the parchment and wand.

"What about—"

"I will answer that question at a more appropriate location." It was more important to keep Teryn's name off Auror radar than to be polite and not interrupt. He asked Rose, "Will you help me?"

"Always." She Apparated once he'd gripped her arm.

 

"Young master Scorpius is not himself," Kreacher said after opening the door.

"We can all see that," Rose snapped.

"Know any Healing Charms?" Scorpius asked. His throat had swollen to the point he could barely whisper.

"Kreacher casts them many times after he punishes himself," the elf said in a tone that combined pain with fond reminiscence. "Kreacher casts them for others Mistress punished too."

Rose slid her arm around Scorpius's waist and half-dragged him inside. "Please do whatever you can."

"It will hurt," Kreacher said.

Scorpius managed to smile. "Like cures like." Kreacher took his hand, and the world exploded into red hot pain, then darkness.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Years ago, I watched a film called Unbreakable, where Bruce Willis's mild mannered character, the only survivor of a train wreck, meets a man who tells him he's a superhero, and at the end of the movie, when he's saved people and discovered that his "friend" caused fires and train wrecks searching for someone like him, he's told: In a comic, you know how you can tell who the arch-villain's going to be? He's the exact opposite of the hero. And most times they're friends, like you and me! I thought, "Oh, shit, that's Edgar and Scorpius." Edgar isn't a killer, though, so maybe Scorpius has a right to quarrel over the definition of nemesis.
> 
> Almost forgot! Inkvines are from the Dune universe, where they're used for whips. I made them carnivorous here, but couldn't resist giving them whip like tendrils in homage. :D


	42. Loose Ends

 

Scorpius awoke in the Ode to Aqua guestroom. Since he was wrapped in Rose's arms, not mummified with bed sheets, he considered himself lucky. "How long have I been out?" His voice sounded normal. He glanced down. Rose wore an aqua floral dressing gown, and he was stripped down to boxers: the Polyjuice Potion had worn off.

"Not as long as you think. Kreacher's magic healed everything, potion included."

He turned onto his side so they were facing each other. Nothing hurt. He wanted to kiss Rose, but she wasn't smiling or moving to press her lips and body to his. Perhaps the storm brewing in her eyes wasn't anger toward Edgar.

She said, "You were supposed to ask questions, not get into a fight."

"I was provoked." He told her what had happened.

Rose's eyes flashed. "You threw the first punch?"

And the second, because Nathaniel didn't have enough muscle to make the first one hurt more than his knuckles. Scorpius didn't get the chance to tell her, because she was yelling, "Are you mental? He could've killed you! He almost strangled you!" Her fingers trembled as they brushed his throat. "I was so scared."

"I'm sorry." The healing magic had negated the effects of Occlumency along with the Polyjuice. Scorpius swallowed around the lump in his throat, and then Rose was kissing him, sinking her fingers into his hair.

"Don't you ever,  _ever,_ do something stupid like that again without me." She clenched her hands. "Promise."

The slight pain brought his gaze to hers. "I promise." He tried to smile and failed. "Know what's funny? All the times Edgar flipped through my comics, I thought he was looking at drawings of fights, or girls, but he actually read them."

"How do you know?"

Scorpius finally managed a smile, because Malfoys hid their true feelings behind smiles. "Edgar said most times in comics, the hero and his nemesis are friends."

Rose's face started to crumple. Scorpius kissed her. He couldn't allow her to cry, not when he was struggling to control his own emotions. He could only deal with the need to give and receive comfort. To feel love and the desire to block out everything else. He pushed the granny robe off her shoulders. He didn't care who had slept in the bed before them. The robe had to go.

She gripped his shoulders. "—or!"

_Floor?_  He obligingly rolled off the bed and took her with him.

Rose evaded his lips when he tried to resume his exploration of her mouth. "Door, not floor!"

He cast a silent spell. "I've locked it." The strapless bra she wore had a convenient clasp in the front.

She pulled his hands away with a laughing groan. "Stop. My family will be knocking on that door any minute."

"We'll tell them to go away."

"No, you need to get dressed."

"In what? Granny Weasley's dressing gown?" He was being practical as well as sarcastic. Nathaniel's clothes didn't have Sizing Charms spelled into the fabric. They wouldn't fit him anymore.

"Kreacher found you some clothes."

Rose scrambled to her feet so quickly Scorpius couldn't help but be suspicious. "Where did he find them?"

"In one of his boxes."

Scorpius got to his feet as she opened a wardrobe door. He'd seen the Slytherin green frock coat, grey-striped trousers, grey waistcoat, and white shirt before. Grandmother Narcissa's Uncle Orion had worn them in the family photograph. "Why these clothes instead of borrowing something from Albus?" It wasn't enough for Scorpius to be a Black. Kreacher wanted him to dress up as one?

"At least they smell clean, not musty, and look, there are shoes."

Rose sounded too cheerful. "What aren't you telling me?"

She said, "Healing you took a lot out of Kreacher. He was gasping for breath." Rose lifted her chin. "When he said it would make him happy to see you wearing Master Orion's clothes, I didn't think it was too much to ask." She took her dinner gown off a hanger and slipped it back on.

Scorpius dressed quickly. Sizing Charms adjusted the clothes to fit so well, he suspected that Sartorius had been the tailor. Before Orion and Walburga became paranoid and spent all their Galleons on security wards and anti-theft Dark objects, they'd spent their gold on keeping up appearances as members of an ancient and noble house.

Downstairs, there were so many couples sitting at the kitchen table, it looked like a late night dinner party.

"Everyone's concerned," Harry said. The wry expression on his face told Scorpius that Harry had tried and failed to send them home.

"We want to know she's all right," Ron said.

"Do you know where she is?" Hermione asked.

Scorpius said, "I'm sure she's somewhere safe, but I don't know where that is yet."

"We'll find her," Rose said.

"In that gear?" Teddy asked. "You could've borrowed clothes for him, Rosie. You didn't have to rummage through trunks in the attic."

"These were provided by Kreacher," Scorpius said. "Where is he?" He wasn't in the kitchen.

"Resting," Harry said.

Scorpius headed for the small door.

"What are you doing?" Teddy asked. "Harry said Kreacher's resting." Teddy's question was answered by Albus, who sounded amused. "It won't tire Kreacher to say 'You're welcome'."

The fabric of Rose's skirts rustled as she followed Scorpius through the door and down the steps to the room of treasures. Kreacher sat in his chair in the centre, wrapped in an odd blanket. As Scorpius drew nearer, he saw that the blanket was a tapestry riddled with scorch marks. He knelt beside Kreacher's chair to see it better. Grandmother Narcissa had told him stories of the mural on the drawing room wall of Grimmauld Place. If it remained, it was hidden with Concealing Charms. "You made a copy."

" _Toujours Pur_ ," Kreacher whispered.

The family bloodline couldn't compare to the purity of Kreacher's devotion. Scorpius touched Orion's portrait on the tree. "Thank you for not saving his wizard hat." It looked like an unfurling turban.

Kreacher gave a raspy chuckle. "Not Master's hat."

Scorpius noted what he hadn't before: all the portraits were in the medieval style. "Ah. Well, thank you for healing me." Kreacher sniffled, and his eyes grew more watery. Scorpius said, "As for the clothes, I'll forgive you for manipulating Rose if you tell me the name of Orion's tailor."

"I wasn't manipulated," Rose snapped.

Scorpius touched her flushed cheek. "He didn't imply he'd die happy to see me wearing this suit?"

Wheezy chuckles shook the elf's body. "Kreacher will die happy one day."

"You're a credit to Slytherin house elves," Scorpius said dryly. "Orion's tailor?"

"Sartorius."

"I thought so. He designed a tuxedo for me, and the quality is unmistakeable." He leaned closer. "Any truth to the rumour that some clients pay in blood?"

"Never wizards from the noblest of houses," Kreacher said proudly. "Master Orion paid in Galleons. Always."

"Of course," Scorpius murmured. He could feel Rose's gaze burning with questions he didn't intend to answer until they were out of Grimmauld Place.

Kreacher suddenly threw off his blanket and jumped to his feet. The tips of his ears twitched. "Someone is making tea for guests in Kreacher's kitchen!" He Disapparated.

Scorpius put a finger to his lips when Rose started to speak. If Kreacher could hear the rattle of teacups in the kitchen, it was possible for him to hear them speaking, and even if he wasn't eavesdropping, George Weasley might be using camouflaged Extendable Ears.

She shook her head, but waited until they were at the stairs to turn and whisper, "We can't just leave."

He agreed. A hasty exit would arouse suspicion. "One cup of tea." Scorpius tucked a windblown curl behind her ear and leaned down until his lips brushed her earring. "And then we'll go do something stupid."

 

It took longer to leave than Scorpius had anticipated. Instead of using tea to keep calm and carry on before they said their goodbyes, the family started brainstorming ways to find Teryn as they passed the milk and sugar.

"She could've left a pair of mittens or a scarf at the shop," George said, although his tone was doubtful.

Angelina put two cubes of sugar in her husband's tea. "We haven't cast a Tracking Spell since Roxy was fifteen and sneaked out of the house to go clubbing."

George grinned. "The look on her face when we started dancing next to her and her mates was priceless."

Ron cleared his throat as the couple laughed softly together. "If Teryn didn't leave anything at the shop, Hugo might have something of hers."

"Letters, unless there's Dark magic involved, can't be traced," Hermione said.

"I know that." Ron's face was turning red. "I'm saying that sometimes a bloke will pocket a ribbon, or a quill or something when a girl drops it, just because she touched it."

George snickered. "Hermione never knew there was a quill in your pocket. She thought you were happy to see her."

"I was!"

"Oh, Ronald." Hermione's cheeks were pinking. "We'll send an owl to Hugo when we get home."

Harry tapped his spoon against his teacup. The clinking sound got everyone's attention. He said, "I appreciate all the offers to help—"

"But the fewer people looking for Teryn, the better," Scorpius said. "If she feels hunted, she'll keep running." He pushed his chair back and Rose stood with him. "When we find her, we'll make sure she knows no one is pressing charges, and if she ever needs us, we'll be there." To forestall any arguments, he said, "Thank you. Goodnight." His eyes were on Kreacher.

The elf vanished, most likely to go stand by the front door to show them out properly. Scorpius escorted Rose to the stairs. When they reached the entry corridor, they heard, "Wait up!"

Albus and Teddy clambered up the stairs to join them. Scorpius shut the door to keep their conversation private.

"We want to help," Albus said.

Scorpius glanced at Rose. He frowned slightly.

She gave the tiniest of nods, but her expression remained hopeful, which he interpreted as,  _OK, we'll find Teryn by ourselves, but there has to be something they can do._

Actually, there was. "I need an update on the situation at Lumos Duo," he said. "I've assumed that Barry Boot's stopped selling potions, and the fairies are now well treated."

"Mum would've told us if they weren't," Rose said. "She'd expect you to do something about it."

"Like what?" Teddy asked. "Pull out your Green Knight costume?"

Scorpius heard the trace of envy beneath the suspicion. Teddy was an Auror, oath bound to follow the rules, like it or not. Scorpius smiled. "Terminate his lease, cousin."

 

"I don't think he's ever really thought about you being his cousin before," Rose said as they left the house and walked down the pavement to find a spot to Apparate. "He looked absolutely stunned."

"Hmm." He'd used the word hoping to distract, but Teddy's reaction bordered on insulting.

"I'm sure he'll warm up to the idea."

"Once Muggle Hell freezes over?"

Rose smiled and held onto his arm in preparation for Side-Along Apparation. "We're going to see a vampire?"

"It's not as stupid as it sounds." Scorpius brought them to the pavement in front of the eternally closed shop near St. Mungo's. There was no lighting.

"Should we knock?" Rose asked.

"He probably already knows we're here. Vampires wouldn't live lifetimes without security wards," Scorpius said. " _Lumos_." The wand light revealed Sartorius's nephew Claudio. Rose gasped as the vampire hissed and shrank back, lifting an arm to protect his glowing red gaze.

And then Claudio lowered his arm, smirking like a fiendish schoolboy.

"It amuses you to perpetuate vampire stereotypes?" Scorpius asked.

"Maybe it's vampire history month," Rose said. She'd recovered from her initial shock. Her lips curved.

Scorpius raised an eyebrow. "Muggle vampire history, perhaps."

"No. Wizards have just as many barmy ideas about us." Claudio smiled meaningfully at Rose. "But Muggles fancy vampires more, writing all those romance novels."

"I don't read romance," Rose said. When Scorpius raised both brows, she muttered, "Classics don't count."

"Don't they?"

"Not to me," Claudio said. "Not enough sex."

Rose blinked. "You read romance—"

"Stop wasting my uncle's time. Follow me." Claudio led them down the alleyway to a door at the back of the building. Rose wouldn't be able to pass the blood purity line guarding the entrance. They stepped into a white walled room with a long, strange metal table that had a roller at the far end. "Looks like a torture device, doesn't it?" Claudio asked. "We use it to check incoming goods before purchase." He ran a hand along the table top and said ominously, "Doesn't mean it can't have other uses."

Scorpius's mind didn't conjure images of torture and blood. It created a vision of Rose on the table. He glanced at her. Her eyes widened. Had he unintentionally projected images? He stared at his feet and put his mental guard in place.

"At last, you are cowed into silence." Claudio grinned from ear to ear. Despite his pointy canines, he resembled an Italian boy band singer from one of Lily's  _Teen Witch_  magazines more than a deadly creature of the night.

Rose took Scorpius's hand in hers and gave it a squeeze. If he looked at her, he knew her expression would convey:  _Let him think he's intimidating._ He shrugged. They could always bring up romance novels if Claudio didn't stop gloating.

A door appeared in one of the walls. Sartorius entered the room, a middle aged version of his great-nephew. His blood red wizard robes were an advertisement of his skill, impeccably tailored.

Scorpius said, "Thank you for seeing us at this hour."

"I was up," Sartorius replied. "Do you require a new suit? That one was out of style when Orion Black commissioned it." The Master Tailor's nostrils flared as if he was offended, once again, by his late client's refusal to be guided in sartorial matters.

"I need assistance in a . . . confidential . . . matter," Scorpius said. He nodded toward Claudio. "His assistance, with your permission."

"The betrayer? Drinker of dragons’ blood?"

"Yes." Claudio wouldn't be walking around freely if he hadn't suffered the cure for dragons’ blood addiction and taken whatever Unbreakable Vows his uncle and maker had demanded. Scorpius turned to Rose. "Vampires are morally neutral. Sartorius works exclusively for the Knights because they supply him with his preferred blood. If he instructs Claudio to work for us—"

"It would be death to betray you." Sartorius inclined his head in the same manner a wizard might tip his hat to acknowledge someone's cleverness.

In a blur of motion, Claudio crossed the room to kneel in front of his uncle as he sobbed out a plea in Italian that either begged for his own death or theirs.

"Do we really need his help?" Rose whispered.

"I have to keep things separate." Things were changing too fast, lines were blurring. He supported both his grandfather and Harry Potter. "I can't ask your family to spy on Edgar." It would be the ultimate betrayal. "I won't."

"You need a spy?" Claudio asked. He now stood beside his uncle, eyes bright with interest, not tears. "This isn't about revenge?"

"Of course it isn't," Rose said. "You sewed the Trackingbrall into the hem of Scorpius's robe where he could find it."

Claudio nodded vigorously. "Yes, yes, I'm not a bad person."

"Just bored," Scorpius said.

"Never!" Claudio replied in a panicked voice. "It is an honour to serve the great Sartorius!"

" _Basta_ ," Sartorious said. "Enough. I do not doubt your devotion, but your use of dragons’ blood betrayed your restiveness." His dark eyes gleamed as he asked Scorpius, "And if I grant your request?"

Rose tugged his hand.  _Hold on, let's discuss this first, don't do anything rash._ Amazing what she could express with the touch of her fingers. Scorpius said, "You'll drink the noblest of blood."

"Not from your neck he won't!" Rose cast a Shield Charm. Scorpius felt magic tingle down his back. Sartorius, who had stalked toward them, teeth elongating, halted. Rose stepped in front of Scorpius. "Paragraph twelve of the Guidelines for the Treatment of Non-Wizard Part-Humans doesn't only protect vampires," she said. "You can't take anything we don't give out of our own free will."

"I'd planned to cut my wrist and let the blood pour into a cup," Scorpius said. She tossed a  _Now you tell me_ glare over her shoulder before briskly informing Sartorius that he wasn't getting more than 450ml.

"That's less than a pint!" Claudio said.

Rose squared her shoulders. "My grandparents donate blood to help other Muggles, and they told me that's what's safe to give, so that's what you'll get."

Claudio scowled at her "take it or leave it" tone and asked Scorpius, "You let your woman speak for you?"

"My partner speaks for  _us,"_ Scorpius said, grateful that she knew how much blood was safe to give. He certainly didn't. Healers used spells to replenish blood, not donations.

Sartorius conjured a jewelled cup.

Rose conjured a glass reagent bottle similar to ones that stored Potions ingredients. This one had a measuring line. "You can put a stopper in this and save some for later."

The cup Sartorius held vanished.

"Do we have a deal?" Scorpius asked.

Sartorius licked his lips. "Claudio is your servant."

Magic pulsed through the room.

Scorpius shrugged out of his jacket and rolled up a shirt sleeve. Sartorius conjured chairs so they would be more comfortable.

Claudio remained standing. "Why me?" he asked.

_I need someone who won't betray me, someone who won't be a betrayal._ "Everyone deserves a second chance," Scorpius said. If Claudio could turn from his destructive path, so could Edgar. He stretched out his arm. "Ready?" he asked once Rose held the bottle under his wrist.

She took a deep breath and released it. "Ready."

 


	43. Knight Life

 

Scorpius and Rose didn't talk on the way home. Once they reached the flat, they silently went through the motions of checking on their pets and then hanging up their clothes before showering. That didn't mean they weren't communicating. Scorpius would glance at Rose questioningly and she'd nod, and when she'd give him an  _Are you OK?_  look he'd give a half-smile. He adjusted the water temperature to as hot as he could stand and stood beneath the rain shower clutching Rose like a lifeline to everything normal and sane. She clung to him until the water cooled and their fingers pruned.

"I'm glad there's no scar," Rose whispered as they huddled together in bed.

"Thanks to your Healing Charm." Scorpius smiled wryly. "I'm glad they didn't literally drool at the sight of my blood. The show of fangs was alarming enough." For one heart-stopping instant, before Sartorius and Claudio controlled themselves, Scorpius had feared bloodlust would overcome the two. If Edgar had managed to batter his way through a Shield Charm, so could vampires. He'd been a fool not to take extra precautions.

Rose burrowed closer. "We could've fought them off. We're both ace at hurling fireballs."

He said with forced lightness, "Grandfather would have never forgiven me if I'd incinerated his tailor."

The sleepy chuckle he got from Rose relaxed Scorpius enough for him to close his eyes, but not until Felix hopped down from his nest to curl up against his master's back was Scorpius able to stop thinking of ways to conjure stakes and drift off to sleep.

He dreamed that he and Rose were sleeping in a forest glade when flocks of annoyingly cheerful birds surrounded them, tweeting and hooting. He muttered a curse and threatened to throw fireballs at the next vile songbird.

Scorpius awoke to Rose giggling.

"Those vile songbirds are the alarm. It's time to get up."

He kissed her throat. "Don't want to."

She sighed. "Me either." Before he could suggest they both take a sick day, she slipped out of bed. "But I can't miss training and you . . ." Rose's eyes gleamed impishly. "You can't miss having everyone say, "Yes, Mr. Malfoy, whatever you say, Mr. Malfoy. Would you care for champagne with your lunch—"

"Brilliant idea," Scorpius said. "I'll come to the Ministry to have lunch with you and bring champagne."

"I can't drink alcohol during training hours."

"Then I'll bring food." She wasn't shaking her head; she was tempted. He said, "For all the trainees. Catered by a restaurant, not the dining hall at Malfoy Enterprises."

Rose asked teasingly, "Afraid your chefs might poison Ministry trainees?"

He wouldn't have told them who the lunch was for. "Preventing false claims of food poisoning and lawsuits."

She didn't deny the possibility. She said, "There are twenty-three in our group."

Over breakfast, Rose confirmed that trainees took their lunch break at half past twelve. He was still wearing boxers when she left. The flexibility of his schedule was another reason he'd never be an Auror. Once he'd decided on a three piece grey suit, no tie, Scorpius went to the terrace to give Antares a note informing Mrs. Jamieson of his catering need, and that he had a personal matter to attend before his ten o'clock meeting.

Warlock Comics didn't open until eleven, but Zod regularly complained that age had turned him into an early riser no matter what time he went to bed. Scorpius knocked on the employee entrance at the rear of the building. Inkvines grew along the fence separating the shops at the end of Knockturn Alley from the flats beyond, providing security and pest control. He kept an eye on the tendrils snaking toward him.

Zod answered the door as a vine tendril raised like a cobra to strike Scorpius's shoe. "Back!" Zod roared. Inkvine leaves shook. The tendril immediately retracted. "I'll have to throw out some blood meal," Zod said. "Rats are starting to avoid the alley. Blood meal will feed the inkvines and attract more prey."

"Fascinating," Scorpius drawled. "Advertising your discount merchandise?"

Zod's craggy face broke into a grin as he brushed a hand over the gold flames that created a Z on his red t-shirt. "The black ones were discount. The Gryffindor version is full price. Ha!" he said, "Can't say Gryffindors overvalue themselves when your lady was one, can you?"

Scorpius arched an eyebrow. "I can say  _some_  Gryffindors certainly do," which earned him a guffaw as they went inside. In contrast to the stark magnolia white walls of WWW's employee corridor, the long employee corridor at Warlock Comics was a gallery of Zod's favourite posters. Zod had hung a new one since Scorpius's last visit: Raven and the Green Knight fighting back to back, hoods concealing their faces.

"Thought you'd like that one. Bought it off an artist who worked for Creevey when the Multiverse comics were issued."

The urge to ask how much Zod wanted for it was almost too much to resist, but there was nowhere he could hang it, not with the Weasleys, Potters and Lupin always coming over.

"You can visit it anytime you like," Zod said, clapping Scorpius on the shoulder. "Bring Rose."

"I will."

They went into Zod's office. Rare issues were displayed on the walls inside glass cases. Scorpius sat on the one chair not used as a place to stack comics while Zod sat behind a desk covered in piles of receipts, bills, and comics. "What do you need?" Zod asked. "It must be important if you couldn't wait until Friday to ask."

_Friday. Albus and Merry's dinner party._ Zod's wife Annis was a Weird Sister's fan and couldn't wait to meet Merry's dad, Merton Graves. Scorpius nodded. "Have you ever fought vampires?"

"In the war? A few times. Voldemort promised them the blood of his enemies."

"How did you fight them?"

Zod stroked his dark beard. "Defensive spells and stakes, mostly."

"Is there a Stake Conjuring Charm or an instant Transfiguration spell?"

Zod's bushy brows knitted together. "Why do you ask?"

"Precautionary measures."

"Against?"

"An enquiry agent of sorts and the uncle—Great Uncle—who allowed his nephew to track someone for me. They both seem honourable. I trust Claudio to do the job." Scorpius found it increasingly difficult to meet Zod's narrowed gaze. "But I'd feel—"  _Less vulnerable, less of an idiot for thumbing my nose at snobbery by paying in blood._ "—more at ease if I had a wider range of defence than Shield and Fire Making charms."

Zod shook his head. "Use fire as a last resort, when it's kill or be killed, and only a fool is at ease around vampires." He picked up a quill and wrote on a note pad with the Warlock Comics logo at the top. "Memorise these rules and have your lady do the same." He tore off the note and held it up. Scorpius read:

**Wear an item with a permanent Shield Charm.**

**Attack with a Slow Motion Jinx**

**Never forget to carry a pick and remember _Palum_**

**Keep your distance**

"Nice acrostic," Scorpius said.

"You're a wanker for getting yourself into this mess," Zod replied. He tapped the first "rule." "You may not have time to cast a Shield Charm. Those buggers are fast." He moved to the second line. "A slo-mo jinx will give you the opportunity to transfigure a harmless food pick—" He brushed the tip of his finger over the word  _Palum_. "—into an execution stake. Doesn't mean you have to kill 'em. Stakes can immobilise, too. Hurts like hell." He rubbed his chest to the left of his heart.

"You were staked?" Scorpius asked.

"Bastard ripped it out of my hands and used it on me. That's why I created the slo-mo jinx." He seemed lost in thought for a few moments, and then said, "Next time you need a tracker, come to me. I'd do a favour for a friend."

"Thank you." He hadn't considered asking Zod for the same reason he'd never brought Edgar to Warlock Comics. Scorpius compartmentalised his life like his father and grandfather. Business and personal life kept separate. Different groups of friends kept separate. "I wish Edgar could've heard your war stories."

"Edgar Goyle? He's the one you're tracking?" Zod snorted. "Barged into this office last Easter demanding to know where you were hiding. It was a pleasure throwing him out."

Edgar was big, but Zod was bigger. Scorpius doubted Edgar had put up a struggle.

"Never told you that, did he?" Zod asked. "Guess Slytherins like their secrets."

"Sometimes," Scorpius admitted, deciding to share one. "Rose and I are trying to find a mutual friend of Edgar's to make sure she left London of her own free will."

Zod frowned. "If she's a mutual friend, why won't Goyle tell you where she is?"

"She's more his friend than ours."

"Ah." Zod was stroking his beard again.

Scorpius said, "There are a couple of villages that she's mentioned."  _In her diary that I happened to skim through once while looking for information about her past and her relationship with Edgar._ "I didn't tell the enquiry agent. I only want him to track Edgar."

"Because?"

"Claudio's a vampire. Teryn's a werewolf."

Zod's eyebrows lifted, but he only said, "Oil and water, vampires and werewolves. Good thinking. You and Rose plan to track down this Teryn yourselves?"

_Work all day, take care of the pets, and then go skulking around villages that roll up the pavement when the sun goes down, sitting for hours in pubs on the odd chance someone mentions a newcomer._ Scorpius swallowed his pride and said, "Unless you have time to do us a favour."

"I make my own hours. I'm the boss." Zod picked up a quill. "I need a description of the girl, names of the villages, and any information you deem relevant."

 

Scorpius strolled into the lobby of Malfoy Enterprises fifteen minutes before his first meeting of the day. "Good morning," he told Sendak, who at first glance sat behind the security desk impassive as ever. As he drew closer, Scorpius detected a worrying sympathy in the troll's gaze. He asked, "Did my grandfather tell you to send me to his office straight away?"

Sendak nodded.

"How long ago?"

"Hour."

Hurrying now wouldn't make Grandfather Lucius any less tetchy. Scorpius said, "My first meeting is with the Head of Property. He'll present an update on the remodelling at Iron Mountain Villas. How do you think it's going?"

Sendak replied, "Barrabatta says paint is all same colour."

"The same palette?" Tenants were allowed to choose from a range of earth tones: greens, warm grey, tans and browns.

"Same as before."

Magnolia white was cheap and bland. Someone had changed the order.

"And the furnishings?"

"Same."

Scorpius clenched his jaw. "Not for long," he said, striding to the lift.

 

Mrs. Tacit started to rise from her desk when Scorpius approached Grandfather Lucius's corner office. He said, "I'll announce myself," and threw open the doors.

His grandfather put down the file he was reading. "You look ready to hex someone. Let me guess. The miscreant who stole your tie."

"A different kind of thief. I'll deal with him shortly." Scorpius sat in one of the visitor's chairs and adjusted his cufflinks while he regained composure. They had different matters to discuss. "The head of the company I mentioned last night is implementing the employee review you suggested."

"As he should." Grandfather Lucius lifted an imperious brow. "Why are you speaking in code?"

"The usual reason." When Scorpius was younger, he'd ask his grandfather to take a walk with him when he really wanted him them to go outside and play Fanged Frisbee.

"You expect Draco has his ear to the door?" His grandfather's smirk revealed he was enjoying the mental image.

"You're the one who said being paranoid doesn't mean someone isn't out to get you."

"Touché. I'll have security install listening device jammers by the end of the week." He flicked his fingers. "Go on."

Scorpius said, "A stock inventory proved there was no theft. It seems that a . . . rival of yours . . . managed to compel a manufacturer employee to give him the one I found."

Instead of scowling, his grandfather leaned toward him eagerly. "Is that person still employed by the manufacturer?"

"No."

Disappointment flashed across Grandfather Lucius's face, and then he shrugged. "Not even the Weas— _manufacturer_ —could be that forgiving, I suppose." He sat back into his chair, mouth turned down at the corners. "Anything else you'd like to share?"

"Your rival bought out the manufacturer's stock of Incognito Potion. He didn't reveal whether it was for personal or business use, so I hired someone to track his movements. Someone with no ties to the other company."

Grandfather Lucius gave him a knowing look. He thought Scorpius had hired the agent that morning. "Well done." He picked up the file he'd been reading. Discussion over, it was back to business.

Scorpius stood. "Thank you, sir."

 

Mitchell Cole paced in front of Mrs. Jamieson's desk like a bull terrier on a short leash.

"Good morning," Scorpius said. He paused by his assistant's desk. "Ask Harrison Harper in property management to join us."

Cole said, "Harper's the newest employee in the office. He doesn't know anything about the troll housing project."

"That's to his benefit," Scorpius replied. He took the file out of Cole's white-knuckled grasp and strode into the office. The curtains were open, the morning post tidily stacked on the desk next to a catering brochure from the restaurant he'd mentioned to Mrs. Jamieson after he'd eaten there with Rose, Teryn and George. He sat in his chair and opened the brochure. The Panis Executive Lunch Tray II was circled with "for thirty" written beside it. The menu of grilled vegetables with balsamic vinaigrette, focaccia, and chargrilled beef tagliata on a bed of rucola and parmesan looked appetizing.

"You're ordering  _lunch_?" Cole gripped the arms of his chair as if restraining himself from lunging across the desk and grabbing back his file. "What about my report?"

"In a moment." Scorpius touched the silver inkwell to engage the Protean Charm.

Mrs. Jamieson entered the room. "Mr. Harper is on his way."

He held up the brochure, pointing to one of the square plates on the executive tray. " _Salame di cioccolato_?"

"Dark chocolate and amaretti biscuits rolled and sliced like salami."

Scorpius had guessed as much. He'd asked to show Cole, once again, which of them was boss. The old dog was slow to learn. "And the seasonal berries?"

"Raspberries and blackberries." Mrs. Jamieson's tone was serene, but her expression was amused.

"Thank you." Scorpius used a Vanishing Charm on the brochure and picked up the file on Iron Mountain Villas. He'd flipped through the pages until he and Cole were alone once more and then tossed it onto the desk.

It didn't take long for Cole to break the silence. "As the report shows," he said, "the project will be completed early and come in significantly under budget."

Scorpius didn't reply.

Cole tugged at his collar. "Ahem, do you have any questions?"

"One. Who changed my order regarding paint and furnishings, you or the contractor?"

Cole froze. Only his eyes moved; they slid to the file.

Scorpius said, "I believe you approved the proposed cost cutting measures without asking what they entailed. Understandable. You're the Head of Property, not a property manager. You let the contractor get on with his work and had your assistant compile the report." Something Scorpius should have anticipated. Cole was an old school executive: profit was more important than tenants' quality of life.

Cole started to relax. "Yes, that's right."

The office doors opened. Mrs. Jamieson said, "Mr. Harper is here to see you, sir."

"Thank you." Scorpius rose and went to shake his new employee's hand. "Harrison, let me introduce you to our Head of Property, Mitchell Cole." He turned to Cole, "Harrison is the new property manager for Iron Mountain Villas. Site manager, until the renovations are complete." He glanced at Harrison, who was staring, slack-jawed. "Your assistant will act as interpreter for any trolls who don't speak English." Barrabatta's presence would provide quality assurance to the tenants while Harrison ensured quality control.

Harrison said, "I look forward to meeting him."

"Her."

Cole shot to his feet. "This—"

"No need to thank me," Scorpius said. "I'm Head of Operations. It's my pleasure."

The reminder that Scorpius had the authority to enforce his decisions squashed whatever protest Cole had started to make. He sat down in his chair. Scorpius waved Harrison to the other seat and resumed his place behind the desk. They ironed out the details, and by the time the men left, Harrison's face was lit with eagerness to start work, and Cole had the self-satisfied expression of a man who had delegated an undesirable task.

Scorpius felt a prickle of guilt for delegating the task of contacting Barrabatta and setting up a site office to Mrs. Jamieson, but when he started to apologise, she said, "Working for you, sir, is never a dull routine."

He chose to take that as a compliment.

 

Another meeting, post to read, and paperwork to review and sign kept his thoughts focused on business. Not until he dialled 62442 MAGIC inside the broken down telephone box in front of the Ministry of Magic did he allow himself to wonder how Rose's fellow trainees would react to his offer of lunch. What if they thought he was trying to curry favour for Malfoy Enterprises? When the box sank into the ground like a lift, his hopes sank with it. He should have asked Rose to make the offer and gauge whether the general response was positive or negative. If no one ate with them, Rose would be hurt. He pinned the silver visitor badge on his jacket. Anyone who hurt Rose's feelings would regret it.

_"Atrium level,"_ a feminine voice announced.

The door opened. Albus, in wizard robes with an Auror Trainee badge gleaming on his chest, said, "Rosie's instructors sometimes keep them a few minutes past the break. I volunteered to escort you to the canteen." He frowned. "Where's the food? I'm hungry."

"I hired a caterer."

"That's a first. Mostly people bring takeaway." Albus seemed unaware of the stares they received as they walked together past gilt fireplaces set into spell-polished dark wood. Witches and wizards stepped out of the ones on the left hand side. Albus said, "The canteen is on this level. Makes it easier for security and visitors alike."

"No accidental wandering."  _Or spying._

"Exactly." Albus opened a door. A muted rumble of voices spilled out.

Scorpius followed him into the canteen, which was a sea of square and rectangular tables and colourful chairs beneath an enchanted cloudy sky. There was a hot food area and one that looked self-serve.

"Subtle, isn't it?" Albus asked. "All the House colours."

It was a cheery look, even if he didn't feel one with the wizarding world. Scorpius recognised the young man hurrying toward them with an insulated food carrier as the server from Panis. He greeted him with, "Hello, Mark. You're making deliveries now?"

"Extra job for extra pay," Mark said. He craned his neck to look past them, hoping to see Rose so he could tell his mates that he'd delivered lunch to the New Trio, Scorpius thought, until Mark asked, "Is, uh, Teryn with you?"

"She moved away."

Mark's face fell, and although his colouring was dark and he was lanky in build, he reminded Scorpius of Hugo Weasley. Mark handed over the food carrier. "Thank you for choosing Panis. Return the dishes at your convenience."

"Sure you don't need help finding Teryn?" Albus said in an undertone as Mark walked away.

"I asked Zod to find her. He has free time and she's never met him."

Albus's eyes widened. If he ever needed glasses, Scorpius would advise him not to choose round ones. He looked owlish enough already. "Last night? After everything else? When did you and Rosie sleep?"

"I asked him a few hours ago." Scorpius saw Rose enter the canteen. Her head was held high, her posture regal. She didn't expect her colleagues to dine with them. He shoved the food carrier at Albus and went to meet her.

He'd intended to kiss Rose's cheek, but changed his mind and kissed her lips before smiling at the group behind her. "Thank you for accepting my invitation. I recognise faces, but I don't think we formally introduced ourselves at Hogwarts." Scorpius held out his hand to the closest trainee. "Goldstein, isn't it? Ravenclaw did Slytherin a favour keeping you as reserve Keeper."

"I don't know about that," Goldstein said as they shook hands, but he seemed pleased.

Scorpius made his way through the group, sharing something, however trivial, that he remembered about each person. He didn't recall everyone's name. He'd never cared to know all the students in his year. It didn't matter. The fact that he remembered a Hufflepuff girl who got top marks for her Summoning Charm and the Gryffindor who cast a Cheering Charm that sent his mate laughing hysterically to the Hospital Ward was enough to thaw their reserve. Out of all the trainees, only four said they'd already made plans to eat with a friend. When Scorpius invited the friends to join them, two of the trainees, Hufflepuff girls, happily went to pull their lunch dates out of a food queue.

"Did you know he could be charming?" Albus asked Rose after the group had pulled tables together and sat down to eat. "I mean, to people other than you."

The trainees sitting across the table and on either side of Scorpius, Rose, and Albus seemed to find the comment amusing.

Rose smiled at Scorpius. "I'm still in shock."

He curled his upper lip. She laughed, which everyone took as a signal to relax and eat and talk instead of staring around awkwardly. Thank Merlin. Being friendly and putting people at ease was bloody hard work. Worth it, to see the tension leave Rose's face and hear her chat easily with the other trainees, but not something he'd want to do on a regular basis. It gave him a headache. Scorpius left his  _Salame di cioccolato_ untouched and enviously watched Ministry employees leave the canteen.

Ted Lupin walked in, brown haired and Auror serious.

"Uh oh," Albus said. "I forgot to invite Cousin Teddy to lunch."

"I'll do that now," Scorpius said. He walked over to Ted. "Hello, cousin. Good to see you!" In a quieter tone, he said, "I'm here to have lunch with Rose, no ulterior motives."

"What? You're not here to bribe trainees into selling secrets they don't know?" Ted smirked. "I'm here to buy my godfather some lunch, since he'd rather skip it and be able to leave on time to have dinner with his wife."

Scorpius gestured to the carrier bag at the end of the table. "There are extra trays if you want to skip the queue."

Ted asked, "What kind of meat?"

"Chargrilled steak."

"Make it two. I can always eat." Ted nodded to the trainees who had fallen silent as they watched Scorpius give him two of the lunch trays. With a wolfish smile, he told Scorpius, "Thanks,  _cousin_!"

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tagliata is Italian for sliced steak, and the Executive Lunch Tray II is an actual tray that can be ordered from the catering company StandByChef that delivers around London. Anyone who has time and mild curiosity can Google the lunch tray and see what it looks like and see the price in Galleons—I mean, GBP. :D


	44. End and Epilogue

 

The rest of the day passed uneventfully. Scorpius considered that a plus. It was a relief not to have owls arriving with ominous messages or unwanted visitors pounding on the front door. They ate a simple dinner of green salad and  _omelette au fromage_  on the terrace. He explained to a giggling Rose that his description had nothing to do with being a "foodie." If he'd used English cheddar, he would have called it an omelette, but the creamy Boursin dictated the  _au fromage._ She nodded solemnly with laughing eyes.

On Tuesday, reports from Harper and Barrabatta stated that the renovations at Iron Mountain Villas were back on track, and Barrabatta had expanded the colour palette to include pink paint. His father was free for lunch, so Scorpius suggested the Gnome and Jarvey. They ended up with a table in the centre of the pub.

"Why is everyone staring at us?" Draco asked while they sipped their drinks.

Scorpius sipped his Irish beer. "I have been in the papers rather a lot lately."

"Yes, you have. Does it make me a terrible father to be grateful the spotlight is on you instead of me?"

"The attention I receive is easier to take than what you endured." Scorpius was the subject of gossip, not letters to the  _Prophet_ demanding he serve time in Azkaban. "But you can pay for lunch to ease your guilt."

Draco couldn't completely hide his amusement. "The Head of Operations earns more than the Head of Legal Affairs."

Scorpius shrugged. "You have two lucrative sources of income. Rose is a Ministry trainee."

"And your mother and I net more profit from creating perfumes than I ever have working for Malfoy En—" Draco broke off, his expression chagrined.

Scorpius smiled. "Defeated by the Malfoy compulsion to boast."

"Indeed." Draco raised his glass. "But having lunch with you is such a treat I don't mind paying for it." He thanked the server when she placed their orders of beer battered cod, chips, and mushy peas on their table. Once they were left to enjoy their meal, he took a bite and said, "Only the elves at Hogwarts fry fish better."

"Agreed." Frydays, a fish and chip shop near Warlock Comics in Knockturn Alley, was almost as good, but the place smelled of oil and the various odours of its dodgy clientele.

They chatted about Grandmother Narcissa—she was in town, shopping, in the pink of health following their "invigorating" dinner, and then Draco said, "There was no mention of you in the paper today. Taking a rest from your adventures?"

"I catered a lunch for Rose's fellow trainees yesterday."

Draco almost choked on a spoonful of mushy peas. Scorpius related the highlights of the lunch to give his father a chance to stop coughing. At the end, he said, "Cousin Ted stopped by."

"Ted Lupin." The corners of Draco's mouth turned down. "I never called his mother cousin. I avoided her when I could."

And then she was killed in battle along with Ted's father, and Andromeda Tonks had kept her grandson far away from the Malfoys. Scorpius silently cursed. Why hadn't he realised that mentioning Ted would bring up painful memories?

Draco asked hopefully, "So you've become friends?"

If the answer had been no, he still would've said, "Yes" to make his father happy. A thought struck. "Would you like to meet him?"

Draco glanced around like he thought Ted might be in the room. " _Now?_ "

"In a few minutes." Scorpius checked his watch. Ted should still be on his lunch break. "You pay while I go send a message."

He walked out of the pub before his father could object. Then he realised that sending a message would mean Ted seeing his Patronus. The thought of the cautiously eager look on his father's face steeled Scorpius's resolve. He concentrated on a happy moment with Rose.

"I asked Ted to investigate whether the fairies at Lumos Duo are well treated," he said when his father joined him outside. "Since the Boots are our tenants, we could be held liable. You should be there to hear his report."

Draco linked arms with Scorpius. "You know our destination, I presume?"

"An alley near the Ministry. Hold on."

It was the first time they had Apparated together. His father had always said Side-Along Apparation was too risky, and yet he hadn't shown the slightest doubt in Scorpius's abilities.

"Not . . . the romantic spot . . . I'd envisioned," Draco said when they reached the alley. He clutched his stomach, gulping in breaths. "You must Apparate . . . regularly . . . not to feel the effects."

"It's a requirement for adventure."

Draco straightened, grinning. "I remember when all you needed was imagination."

"Which, according to my grandparents, I got from you."

His father's laugh cut off at the sound of footsteps. Ted Lupin strode into the alley, his hair and eyes dark as his frown. "I told my mates the Patronus was from my grandmother, but they think it was Victoire's, and they'll be taking the piss out of me for the rest of the day."

"Scorpius's Patronus is a mongoose, not a weasel," Draco said.

Ted stopped in his tracks as if he'd just noticed the older Malfoy. "What's going on here?"

"We need to know whether to inform the Boots that they've breached the terms of their rental contract," Scorpius said. "Have you concluded your investigation?"

"You told  _your father_  about that?" Ted asked.

"I'm the Head of Legal now," Draco replied.

"Oh." Ted seemed ill at ease. Perhaps he expected a former Death Eater to curl his lip and sneer, call him a werewolf's pup or at least drawl condescendingly. He ran a hand through his Harry Potter styled hair. "Yeah, Al and I went in as patrons last night and then interviewed the staff and customers. Both brothers have cleaned up their act." Ted paused, and then added reluctantly, "Barry told me he never wants to see the bloke in green again."

_"Excellent,_ " Scorpius's tone was too hearty. He didn't want Draco asking questions. "Come to the flat for dinner. Rose will want to hear all about it."

"Will you invite Al by Patronus?"

"If you like."

Ted smiled wolfishly.

"Seven o'clock?" Scorpius asked. He'd be sure to tell Albus who to thank for the Patronus invitation.

"Vicky and I will look forward to it." Ted glanced toward Draco, nodded, and then left the alley.

Draco said, "He looks like both his parents, but young Ted's personality reminds me of his mother. Even with dull hair, she was a colourful person. People liked her. They wanted to be her friend."

"People liked you too." Scorpius refused to allow any wallowing in the past. He said, "I won't say what Moaning Myrtle liked. You'd tell Mother and she'd get jealous."

"Yes, she would." Draco's faint smirk became more pronounced. "I'd have to distract her by asking about that green bloke you liked so much in those Creevey Comics."

"We wouldn't want that," Scorpius said. He took out his pocket watch. "Look at the time. I have a meeting. Thanks for lunch." He Apparated to the roof of the building, looked down to make sure the alley was empty, and conjured his Patronus.

 

Rose sent an owl to her mother to share the good news about Lumos Duo. Hermione wanted to hear all the details, so Rose invited her parents to dinner. Albus, who had returned to the classroom from lunch when the Patronus arrived, sent word that he'd not only invited his parents, but his grandparents as well, since they were in town for the day. The first investigation had been planned in their lounge, so they were interested to hear how it had all turned out.

Scorpius wondered if Granny Weasley and Grandmother Narcissa had run into each other while shopping in Diagon Alley. He told Rose, "Al was supposed to blame Ted, not me."

"You sent the Patronus." Rose hugged him. "I'll help you cook."

"We're ordering pizza."

To his annoyance, Franco's Pizza was a unanimous favourite. Everyone acted as though he'd gone to some special effort to be hospitable when his intent was the opposite. He hadn't made the pizzas, he just remembered that Granddad Weasley preferred thin crust and reduced cheese on his pizza because Granny Weasley had him on a reducing diet, and Merry only liked olives in martinis. Trifling details easily recalled by anyone with a decent memory.

It took two and a half glasses of Cabernet Franc to mellow Scorpius's mood. The red wine had the right amount of acidity and flavour to balance the pizzas. The group voted to eat on the terrace lit by fairy lights. An appropriate choice as Al, Merry, Ted, and Victoire told everyone about how the Boots had cut the hours the fairies worked. The Wiggentree was gone—sent to Hogwarts for the edification of Herbology students.

The doorbell rang while Scorpius was in the kitchen retrieving the lemon sorbet and bottles of sparkling Prosecco he intended to pair together for afters. He called out, "I'll answer it," and held the necks of two bottles in one hand and cradled the sorbet container in the crook of his arm to free his other hand to open the door.

Claudio Sartorius, dressed in a modern jeans and black t-shirt, looked at the items in Scorpius's hand and cried, " _Sgroppino_!"

Scorpius raised an eyebrow.

The vampire said, "The digestif of Venice? Prosecco, sorbet, and a splash of vodka?"

"You'll have to show me how to make it." Scorpius thrust the bottles at Claudio and returned to the kitchen. He placed the sorbet on the worktop, pulled a bottle of vodka out of the coolant cupboard, and got out a tray and champagne glasses.

" _Sgroppino_ comes from a Venetian word," Claudio said. "It means 'to un-knot,' which, I believe, is the task you set for me."

It took a moment for the meaning of the words to register. "Edgar's giving you trouble?"

"He goes here, he goes there, he turns back. He creates a knot, suspecting he is followed. Do you have a whisk?"

Scorpius opened a drawer and picked out a long-handled flat bottom drinks whisk. "Knots loosen. Just keep out of sight and keep track of where he goes at night and to whom he speaks."

Claudio made the drinks in a blur of motion. "Thirteen glasses. A lucky number in Italy."

Scorpius picked up the tray. "Is it lucky for Italians in England? You're the thirteenth guest." He asked, when there was no answer, "You don't have a grudge against Harry Potter or Rose's family, do you?"

"No."

"You can . . . drink . . . a variety of things, can't you?"

_"Si, certo."_

"Good. I'm telling everyone the  _Sgroppino_  was your idea, so you'll either get the credit or the blame." Scorpius started walking toward the terrace.

He introduced Claudio as a friend who did enquiry work. Those who knew about Edgar understood why Claudio was there. Scorpius shook his head to answer each  _has he found out anything_  look. After the digestifs had been passed out, tasted, and discussed for several minutes, Claudio noticed Victoire's engagement ring and asked who was making her wedding dress. The conversation turned to dressmakers, fabrics, and fashion trends.

Scorpius pled a headache and escaped to the master bedroom. He turned off the lights and stretched out on the bed, petting Felix, who had curled up on his chest.

Sometime later, the illumination orbs on the bedside tables lit the room with a soft glow. He'd fallen asleep.

"They left a few minutes ago," Rose said. "You didn't wake when everyone piled into the kitchen to do the washing up, so I let you rest."

"I didn't really have a headache," he admitted.

She slipped off her shoes and sat on the bed. "You've been under a lot of stress." Her eyes gleamed with humour. "You missed seeing the look on Teddy's face when Claudio asked Victoire if she had any sisters or cousins who were un-betrothed. It was obvious Teddy let Claudio chat up his fiancée because he'd thought an interest in fashion meant gay."

"I'm no good at socialising." There. He'd said it.

Her expression softened. "You're brilliant at it when you want to be. Charming as hell." Rose pressed her finger to his lips when he started to argue. "You're selectively social. You have limits, and all our parties and dinners have drained you. You had to withdraw."

He was amazed at how well she knew him.

Rose bit her lip. "I didn't figure it  _all_  out on my own. A long time ago, I read a Cosmopolitan Witch article about the benefits of dating outgoing introverts."

Her cheeks were turning pink. That kind of article, was it? "Name one."

"A benefit? I'll never get bored."

Scorpius sat up and put Felix on the floor. He turned to Rose. "Is that the only one?"

"If they like you, they  _really_  like you."

He leaned down to kiss her, and then stopped. "Anything else?"

She brushed her lips against his. "They know when to shut up."

 

The next afternoon, Scorpius smiled over the memory of another "benefit" Rose had shared when they were drifting off to sleep: there will never be a meaningless encounter. The click of the door handle turning drew his eyes to his pocket watch. A quarter to four. It wasn't like Travers to be early. The Head of Marketing enjoyed his work to the point that he had to tear himself away to attend meetings.

Zod, wearing the red warlock robes Creevey had captured so well in his comics, burst into the office followed by a flustered Mrs. Jamieson.

"I beg your pardon, sir. Mr. Zod said you'd want to see him straightaway."

"That's right," Scorpius said. "Thank you, Mrs. Jamieson." He waved Zod towards one of the visitor chairs, but the warlock stood in place, looking around the office, chuckling.

"Did you choose the furnishings yourself?"

Scorpius leaned back in his chair. "The design is Italian, not Scandinavian."

Zod laughed so hard his beard shook. "Splitting hairs, boy. Wish I had a camera. I'd take a picture and send it to Creevey to use as inspiration the next time he draws Chace Maddox in his office."

The mention of the Green Knight's alter ego stung. "I don't aspire to be a playboy billionaire." Not the playboy part, anyway.

"If you did, we wouldn't be friends." Zod sat down, a satisfied grin creasing his long face.

"You found Teryn," Scorpius said.

"Annis is the one who came up with the idea. Both those villages only had one realtor. We pretended to be looking for a getaway cottage, said acquaintances of ours had visited and recommended them. The first realtor hadn't shown a cottage in weeks, but the second . . . ." Zod's smile showed his love for the hunt. "The second remembered a young couple—very polite, very average looking. The young lady was eager to buy, but her partner decided it was too far from London. He couldn't  _pop over_  to see her the way he'd like unless they were closer to the city."

"Edgar can't perform Long-distance Apparition," Scorpius said.

"And Apparition is the only way to avoid being followed by your wife, Aurors, and the occasional vampire."

Zod sounded cheerful about having his search widened instead of narrowed. "How did you find her?"

"We flew back to London and visited the girl's granny. Annis was sure the old witch had kept an item of two of her granddaughter's out of spite. With a little  _encouragement,_ Granny handed over a dolly given to Teryn by her mum. A Tracking Spell revealed the girl's location." Zod pulled a Muggle-looking sheet of paper and a folded map out of his pocket. He handed the paper to Scorpius and spread the map out on the desk. The paper was a printout from a Muggle computer showing a street view of a white attached cottage and another picture of the back garden along with details of the property.

"She's in Elstree, a Muggle village twenty kilometres NW of central London. Two bed cottage on High Street," Zod said. "Buyer paid cash."

Using Teryn's new alias, Scorpius was sure. An off the books contractor could turn the second bedroom into a safe room. Because Teryn didn't use magic, she'd fit into the Muggle neighbourhood, and she and Edgar wouldn't have to use Incognito Potions. No one would think to search for them there.

"Goyle's a clever bastard, I'll give him that," Zod said. He tapped the green areas around the village. "Lots of open spaces and wooded parks. Maybe you and Rose should visit."

Scorpius came around the desk to shake Zod's hand. "How can I thank you?"

Zod pulled a tiny porcelain doll out of a pocket. "Give this to Teryn. Granny hadn't taken care of it, but Annis fixed it up."

The doll had no shoes, but its blonde hair was combed, and the face and yellow dress were clean. "I'd like to hear how you  _encouraged_ the witch to give this up. _"_

"Bring Rose by Kneazle tonight."

"Tomorrow," Scorpius said. They'd both have stories to tell.

 

The meeting with Travers didn't last long. There were no more appointments scheduled, so Scorpius told Mrs. Jamieson they were done for the day. After stops at Zeller Toys and Eyelop's Owl Emporium, he went home to feed Antares and Felix and change clothes. Rose walked in while he and Antares were hiding Galleons for Felix to hunt.

"I don't smell dinner cooking. Are we having leftover pizza?" she asked, and then did a double take. "Antares just nudged a Galleon underneath a sofa cushion."

Scorpius said, "He's big enough to carry mail packets. It won't hurt him to carry Galleons around."

"I can't believe he's hiding them." Rose rushed past him to kneel by the sofa to gently stroke Antares's feathers. "Who's a clever boy?" She laughed softly when Scorpius cleared his throat. "You're a clever wizard _."_  Her eyes flickered around the room. "Hiding Galleons early. We must be going out to dinner. Somewhere casual, by your jeans and t-shirt."

"You're a clever witch. Guess where?"

Her face lit up. "You found Teryn!"

"Zod and Annis did." He shared how they'd done it. They left Antares to hide the remaining Galleons and went into the bedroom. He picked up the doll off the bedside table.

"Teryn never mentioned it. That evil old witch probably told her she threw the doll away." Rose looked at the pictures of the cottage.

He said, "We can Apparate to the back garden without alarming the neighbours."

Rose pursed her lips. "I'm sure privacy fencing was at the top of Edgar's must-have list." Her eyes flashed when he chuckled. "What's so funny?"

"The thought of Edgar Muggle house-hunting."

"I hope he suffered."

The Enchantress out for vengeance had nothing on Rose Weasley. Her expression pushed his Slytherin buttons. The ones that flashed "sexy" into his brain in neon green. Scorpius counted to ten in Latin and said, "Get changed and we'll find out."

 

One of the three "d's" of Apparition wasn't distraction, so Scorpius kept his eyes off Rose as he Apparated to the back garden of Teryn's cottage. In addition to the privacy fencing, it had a patch of grass, some flowering planter boxes, and a table for two under a striped awning.

Rose Apparated to a spot next to him. "It's nice, isn't it?" Her tone was grudging.

He nodded.

She moved closer. "What I said about Edgar. Did it make you angry or something?"

Counting in Latin hadn't worked. The cold pressure of Apparition hadn't worked. He considered his options. Put his emotions on ice, or act on them? He slid a hand up her back and into her hair. "Something," he said and kissed her, breathing her in, delving, devouring.

Barking.

Something was barking at them.

Rose's lips smiled against his. Her hands released their grip on his t-shirt and flatted against his chest, creating distance instead of pulling him closer. "We have an audience."

They looked toward the house. A black and tan dachshund puppy stood half in, half out of the pet door.

The dachshund was pulled into the house, and then the back door opened. Teryn stepped outside with the quieted puppy in her arms. She rushed toward them. "The cottage is soundproofed, but Feli always hears Edgar arrive and bolts for the doggie door. When she started barking—" Tears choked her voice. "I'm so happy to see you!" Teryn put Feli down and the girls hugged, crying and talking at once. When Rose handed over the doll, Teryn burst into tears again. "I can't believe Granny found her!"

A low whimper drew Scorpius's attention to the puppy. He crouched down to pet Feli. "I don't like to be ignored, either, but they need to talk." He conjured a small golden ball and let Feli sniff it. "Let's play fetch."

Dachshund hunting instincts were as keen as those of a Niffler. Feli chased after the ball. The challenge was getting her to bring it to him after she'd collected it. Feli preferred to run around the garden with the ball, prancing around Scorpius in circles before zooming off again. Finally, he squatted down and held out his hand. "Give."

Feli dropped the ball into his hand.

"Good girl!" Teryn cried. She and Rose were smiling. Teryn's eyes were on her puppy, but Rose's gaze focused on Scorpius, and he was pretty sure that if his actions had pressed any of her buttons, they were sending sweet, not sexy signals. He curled his lip.

Rose's smile widened.

He picked up Feli and strode over to hand the puppy and ball to Teryn. "I conjured the ball. It'll vanish in a few hours." She wouldn't have to confess or lie about it to Edgar. Scorpius glanced toward the house. "Security wards?"

She nodded. "And I promised to tell him if you came to the door."

Scorpius said, "We're in the garden."

Teryn flushed. She might not have been officially Sorted, but she was too Hufflepuff to lie, even by omission.

"Be our Secret Keeper," Rose said. "We only found you to make sure you're all right and let you know that no one's pressing charges. Everyone cares about you. We want you to be happy, and we won't tell anyone where you are or visit again unless you ask us to."

Tears spilled down Teryn's face as she nodded. Scorpius couldn't take it anymore. He cast a Cheering Charm.

"This is so much better than having my memory erased," Teryn said contentedly after Rose had cast the spell to make her their Secret Keeper. "I don't want to forget that Ron and George aren't mad at me, or that two of my dearest friends came to visit." She hugged Scorpius with one arm, holding the sleeping puppy with the other. "Thank you for Buttercup's stockings and shoes. She looks so pretty."

"You're welcome." His eyes slid to Rose. She rescued him by moving into hugging range.

"You're keeping another secret," Rose told her. "The address of my Muggle grandparents. They'll pass along your letters if you ever want to write me or Hugo."

Teryn squeezed Rose tighter and then ran with Feli to the house.

"I suppose that means dinner is out," Scorpius said, "not that I have an appetite anymore."

"Me either," Rose said. "Let's go home. We can warm up pizza later."

Lying together on the double lounger, stargazing; the mental image was almost perfect. "I'll meet you there." He kissed her forehead and stepped back to Apparate.

He and Rose forgot the stars as they swayed in the hammock Scorpius had taken from his parents' garden with their blessing. The dip in the centre brought his and Rose's bodies together in a way that both comforted and made his heart race with hers, which was better than perfect.

 

 

Epilogue

 

_Six months later . . . ._

 

Scorpius stared at the warehouse that contained Creevey Studios. Well-dressed witches and wizards strolled toward the open doors and the private showing for the Creevey Foundation's top donors. The excitement he'd felt reading the invitation and realising the significance of the date—the anniversary of the Second Task when Dennis Creevey watched Harry Potter carry Gabrielle Delacour out of Hogwarts Lake and sketched the character that would become LaVeela—had vanished.

"Don't be nervous," Rose said, taking his hand in hers. "You're the sexiest fan alive, and we're the best dressed couple thanks to Claudio."

"They'll think we should have saved our outfits for Creevey Comic Con."

"We can wear them there too." Rose ran a hand across the strapless bodice of her evening gown. "I love my black feathers." She adjusted the linen square in the pocket of his dinner jacket and straightened his bow tie, not that either item needed attention. She was giving him time to compose himself.

"I love you," he said. "I'm ready."

Off-duty Aurors checked invitations at the door. They nodded respectfully to Rose and wished her a good evening.

"They know I'm already having a good evening because I'm with you," Scorpius said as they entered the studio. Paintings of characters and original cover art hung on the warehouse walls. Creevey Foundation donors milled around, champagne glasses in hand. Along with Zod, Annis, and enough Weasleys to qualify as a family reunion, Scorpius recognised celebrities, Ministry officials and a few prominent businessmen and their wives.

"Oh my stars.  _Look_ ," Rose whispered.

Scorpius followed her gaze across the room. Two couples stood slightly apart from the rest. Harry and Ginny Potter. Gabrielle and Dennis Creevey. Ginny and Gabrielle were chatting. Smiling.

"It's about time the aunties became friends," Rose said. Her expression became teasing. "It'll be easier to drag you to family dinners if you know Uncle Dennis will be there."

Scorpius steered her to the centre of the warehouse where the artists created the comics. "I'll always be susceptible to persuasion."

He introduced Rose to the artists standing ready to answer questions about their works in progress. Scorpius's knowledgeable interest in their work led to deep conversations. Rose left his side a few times to speak with family and friends and to bring back champagne and plates of hors d'oeuvres. He always thanked her and gave a glass or plate to the witch or wizard discussing his or her art. Time flew by. When he had shaken the hand of the last artist, he looked for Rose, who had gone to say goodbye to her Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny, who were leaving.

She was walking toward him with Dennis Creevey. The wizard he considered the greatest artist of all time asked Scorpius to call him Dennis, expressed his appreciation for Scorpius's support, and invited him to tour his private studio.

Rose kissed Scorpius's cheek. "Have fun."

Each step up the metal stairway to the loft seemed to echo. The whole experience was surreal, until he saw the habitat in front of the window near the top of the stairs. A tiny owl with brown spotted feathers poked his head out of his burrow. "Colin," Scorpius said.

Dennis gestured to the array of action figures on the long table in the centre of the loft. "What can I say? I surround myself with reminders of my heroes." He picked up a Green Knight action figure. "This one most of all."

"No." The denial tumbled out of Scorpius's mouth. "I've read your interviews. He isn't based on a real wizard."

"That's true." Dennis gave him a lopsided smile. "He's based on the man my brother dreamed he could be if his name was Malfoy."

_Chace Maddox. Colin Malfoy_. "I don't understand," Scorpius said.

"Neither did I," Dennis said. "Why would my brother want to be an arrogant snob?" He paused. "This was before your father, er, left school."

_Before my father let Death Eaters into Hogwarts. Before Albus Dumbledore died._

"I'm sure it was because Malfoy was the richest boy we knew. Colin said if he had a vault filled with gold, he'd use the Galleons to help people." A bittersweet smile crossed Dennis's face. "After he bought a cloak woven with spells to block curses and hide his face from his enemies."

"Harry Potter inherited a vault full of gold," Scorpius said.

"Yes, he did." Dennis plucked another action figure off the table. "It's funny, Colin practically worshiped Harry, but he never wanted to be another Super Wizard." He held up the Super Wizard and Green Knight figures. "Colin identified with the anti-heroes in Muggle comics. The ones who redeemed themselves by doing the right thing. The ones who became more than anyone thought they could be . . . the way Colin did in the final battle."

Scorpius didn't know what to say.

Dennis set the action figures down. "I created a character to honour my brother. You've brought him to life." He held up a hand when Scorpius began to speak. "It isn't the way you dress, although that's spot on. Excellent choice of dinner suit, by the way. It's from one of my wife's favourite comics. Gabrielle likes romance."

"I'm not the Green Knight." The words he'd once told Rose came back to him. "I don't have an obsession to fight crime because criminals took my parents' lives. I'm not trying to save the world."

"Oh. That. Tortured backstories are expected for comic book characters, and readers love orphans," Dennis said. "That isn't what I meant. I wasn't being literal." He gave a self-deprecating huff of laughter. "Although you are a Malfoy, and you have loads of Galleons and some  _really_  enviable gear." He smiled wistfully, no doubt remembering the Green Knight suit and cloak he'd admired at Comic Con.

"I paid for Sizing Charms if you'd like to borrow anything," Scorpius said.

Dennis looked tempted. "LaVeela only loves Mastermind." He shook his head as if shaking off distracting thoughts. "About the suit—"

"Harry told you what I did."

"Actually, Katsuji, who inks my sketches, heard the story from his brother who was on duty when Boot turned himself in."

"I don't want to be a vigilante," Scorpius said. "I may never wear the suit again."

"Good to hear—the vigilante part. I hope you'll change your mind about the suit now that you know what it represents." Dennis took a steadying breath. "I have one last thing to say." He swallowed hard. "Like Colin, you're more than people think you are, and the next time you put on that suit, do it to help people because it's the right thing to do."

Scorpius didn't hesitate to vow, "I will."

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The poet Muriel Rukeyser said, "The universe is made of stories, not atoms." Thanks so much to everyone who has read, commented, given kudos, and followed Scorpius and Rose's adventures since Our Little Secret. Together, we keep the Potterverse expanding. If anyone’s interested in how Dennis Creevey and Gabrielle Delacour became a couple, I’d love you to read my one shot: Mastermind vs LaVeela. ^_^

**Author's Note:**

> If anyone reading this has never heard of Our Little Secret and Our Little Secret: Lost, you don't have to read them, (I think every story should be able to stand alone) but if you get some time, I think reading them will make you enjoy this story even more. :) Special thanks to everyone who has read the previous stories and looked forward to this one!


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